Map of the ancient province of Terra di Lavoro corresponding to a large portion of today’s Campania, traditionally known since Roman times as Campania Felix because of the extraordinary fertility of the soil. Printed in Amsterdam in 1639 by Johannes Janssonius, the map is taken from the famous ‘Atlas Novus’ produced in collaboration with Henricus Hondius. Cartographically, the map is based on Magini’s prototype from which it inherits the orography and the spatial positioning of settlements.
The decorative layout reflects the classical canons of the period with the Baroque taste for title cartouches and distance scales. On the sea, small caravels and galleons ply the waters, adding a touch of liveliness and recalling the strategic importance of maritime traffic at the time.
Henricus Hondius (1597-1651) belonged to one of the most famous cartographer families of the Dutch ‘Golden Age’. Son of Jodocus Hondius the Elder, Henricus inherited the passion and expertise for producing atlases and maps. After his father’s death, he continued his workshop activities, maintaining the prestige of the ‘Hondius’ brand with works of great scientific rigour and extraordinary aesthetic care.
Johannes Janssonius (1588-1664), a contemporary and brother-in-law of Henricus (having married the latter’s sister), was also a prominent publisher and cartographer. His publishing house was based in Amsterdam, one of the major cultural centres of Europe at the time. Together, Hondius and Janssonius initiated a fruitful collaboration that led to the publication of several atlases, including the ‘Atlas Novus’, evidence of a period in which cartography was asserting itself as a tool of knowledge and political prestige.
