Sancti Damiani Oppidum - Beautiful View Of An Italian Commune (Township) In Piedmont. Johannes Blaeu

This attractive copperplate engraved sheet provides a late 17th-century aerial perspective of the Italian municipality known as San Damiano d'Asti. The medieval town is situated in the Piedmont region and exchanged hands between the Holy Roman Empire, France, and local Italian leaders numerous times over its long history. Crumbling fortifications are encircled by a large moat and several bridges, built using a combination of earth and masonry. Clusters of apartments, gardens, offices, churches, and courtyards are shown amid neatly ordered streets. Six notable locations including ancient Roman ruins, the Tower, and the Parochial Temple of St. Mary, are identified in the lower right, beneath the decorative title cartouche. The image was first designed and published by Johannes Blaeu in the 1680s, but was re-issued in a number of different volumes in subsequent decades. Sheet Width (in) 26.6 Sheet Height (in) 22.4 Condition Description Chipped lower right corner and discoloration in the upper center (confined to the margin) from old tape repairs. Bright, modern hand color atop a crisp impression. Printed on thick laid paper. Blank on verso, but there are several pieces of archival tape where previously matted. About good condition overall.