A rare map etched and engraved by Marco Antonio Dal Re and published in Milan in 1735, depicting the crucial phases of the War of the Polish Succession on Italian territory, with a focus on the strategic quadrilateral encompassing Trentino, the Verona region, and the Mantua region. The map is distinguished by a dual title: while the main title in the upper right defines the geographical subject as the “Block of Mantua with the Course of the Adige,” the inscription in the upper margin clarifies the cartographic source of the work. The latter, in fact, cites Giovanni Nachi (Ioannes Nachius), author of the famous *Topographiam Veronensis Agri* of 1635, from which Dal Re borrows the accurate topographic basis for the orography and hydrography, though he reworks it to serve an exclusively military narrative.
From the perspective of territorial representation, the map stands out for its vivid rendering of the landscape. The course of the Adige River serves as the central axis, depicted with precision from the locks at Trento to the valleys of the Ferrara region. To the left, Lake Garda dominates the scene, while the landscape is punctuated by a dense network of settlements, castles, and an almost three-dimensional rendering of the mountain and hill ranges.
The element of greatest historical interest is the layout of the entrenched positions and encampments. The map is not merely a geographical representation, but a tactical “snapshot”: small stylized tents and icons of fortifications dot the landscape along the Mincio and Adige rivers, indicating the positions of the Franco-Sardinian and Imperial troops.
At the bottom center, Dal Re includes a vignette (which also features a stele with his signature and the date) depicting a battle scene with officers on horseback in the foreground and the encampments in the background, offering a visual summary of the drama of war. This integration of cartographic precision and figurative storytelling is typical of the taste of the era, aimed at satisfying a cultured public eager to understand not only the geography but also the political and military dynamics of their time.
Marc’Antonio Dal Re (1697–1766) was one of the most influential engravers and publishers active in 18th-century Milan. Born in Bologna, he moved to the Lombard capital at a very young age, where he founded a thriving copperplate engraving workshop that quickly became a leading center for the production of cityscapes, religious prints, and commemorative works. His work is characterized by a clean engraving technique and a marked entrepreneurial spirit, and perfectly embodies the role of the Enlightenment-era engraver-publisher: a cultural mediator capable of combining the aesthetics of engraving with an educational and scientific function.
