An original antique map of Parma, engraved by Matthias Merian first published in Merian's extensive geographical work,”Theatrum Europaeum “ in 1640.
In 1640, Parma was a significant fortified city and the capital of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, ruled by the Farnese family. Under Duke Odoardo Farnese (reigned 1630–1650), the city was a crucial political and military hub, featuring the newly constructed pentagonal Citadel (built late 16th century). It functioned as a major urban center in northern Italy.
The map presents the city from an aerial perspective and includes the fortified walls, city gates, main buildings, squares, and streets. The atmosphere conveyed by the work is that of a scientific-artistic document combining topographical accuracy with aesthetic sensitivity.
It presents a part map part birds-eye view of the town. Merian is considered one of the great masters of cityscape and a pioneer of axonometric projection, qualities that clearly emerge in the spatial management of this map. The aerial perspective, typical of bird’s-eye views, was a technique developed and used extensively by him.
Matthäus Merian, the leading German illustrator of the 17th century, was born in Basel in 1593. He learned the art of copperplate engraving in Zurich and subsequently worked and studied in Strasbourg, Nancy, Paris, and the Low Countries. In 1618 he went to Frankfurt, wherein in 1618, he married the eldest daughter of J.T. de Bry, publisher and engraver. After de Bry died in 1623, he took over his business. De Bry’s business remained in Merian’s family until 1726, when a fire destroyed it.
In 1635 he began the series “Theatrum Europaeum”. Between 1642 and 1688, he published Martin Zeiller’s “Topographia Germaniae”, with more than 2,000 plates etched and engraved by himself and his sons Matthäus and Caspar.
He also took over and completed the later parts and editions of the Grand Voyages and Petits Voyages, initially started by de Bry in 1590.
