A map of Lombardy published by Antonio Zatta and his son Giacomo, covering a vast and detailed area of northern Italy that stretches from the Alpine peaks in the north to the shores of the Ligurian Sea in the south, including the narrow coastal stretch between Genoa and the Riviera di Levante. At the center of the composition, the Po Valley dominates, where the course of the Po River serves as a central axis through Savoyard Piedmont, passing through Turin, and then extending into the Duchies of Milan, Parma, Piacenza, and Modena, until it borders the territories of the Papal Legations and the Venetian Republic. This overview reveals the complex fragmentation of the Italian territory at the end of the 18th century, highlighted by contemporary coloring that uses pastel shades to emphasize the borders between the various states, facilitating political interpretation.
From a cartographic perspective, Zatta employs a refined system of symbols to depict the topography and hydrography. The mountain ranges are rendered in the classic “moles’ hills” style or as small shaded reliefs, which lend a three-dimensional quality to the map, while the dense network of canals, rivers, and lakes—among which the imposing outline of Lake Garda stands out—underscores the importance of water resources for the economy and the defense of the territory. The toponymy is extensive, accurately listing cities, small villages, abbeys, and post stations, making the document a valuable source for studying historical settlement patterns and the road network of the time.
The map comes from the little-known “Nuovo Atlante” published in Venice in 1796. The “Nuovo Atlante” must be clearly distinguished from the “Atlante novissimo,” which is Zatta’s most famous work and was published in four volumes between 1779 and 1785.
The Nuovo atlante, on the other hand, is a later and more experimental work, dating from around 1799, and it also appears in catalogs and inventories of Zatta’s maps as an independent and separate project. Sources describe it as a collection of individual or small-format maps, updated to reflect the geographical changes of the late 18th century, and thus more portable and immediately marketable than the large multi-volume atlas. In other words, while the Atlante novissimo represents Zatta’s encyclopedic and monumental ambition, the Nuovo atlante reflects a subsequent phase, one that was more agile and adapted to the late-18th-century market.
Antonio Zatta was one of the leading Italian publishers of maps in the late 18th century, a period dominated by the works of French cartographers. His cartographic work is characterized by the innovation he introduced in the map titles, which he ultimately evolved from the classic Renaissance references—rich in mythical and allegorical figures—into an element that supports the map itself. In his map titles, Zatta meticulously adds and highlights references to the distinctive features of the territory, depicting the types of crops and crafts, landscapes, and customs of the inhabitants. Furthermore, his maps are not copies based on earlier representations but are drawn and updated according to the latest observations, as is evident from the title of his most famous work, the “Atlante Novissimo.”
Giacomo Zatta is mentioned in historical sources as the son of Antonio and as an engraver, active between Venice and Udine in the second half of the 18th century and still documented after 1812. Giacomo and his brother Giovanni were associated with their father’s business from 1783, but they were unable to successfully continue the business after Antonio’s death. For this reason, Giacomo should be regarded primarily as a figure of technical and familial continuity within the Zatta publishing workshop, rather than as an independent creator of a large body of cartographic works.
