Marseille.

Rare early edition of this town view of Marseille, from the most famous series of medieval city views Braun and Hogenberg.

The engraving shows Marseilles from the southeast, with a part of the Frioul Archipelago on the far left, the two main islands of Pomègues and Ratonneau, and the small island of If. The fortress on If owes its fame mainly to the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. The fortress of Notre-Dame de la Garde, built in 1525, is perched on a high limestone bluff in the foreground. This was replaced 300 years later by a neo-Byzantine church of the same name, which is the landmark of present-day Marseilles. To the left of it are the facing fortresses of Saint-Nicolas and Saint-Jean. After its founding by the Greeks around 600 BC. Marseilles became one of the most important Greek colonies due to its favourable location. In 125 BC the city asked the Roman Empire for help in defending itself against Gallic tribes, which led to its annexation by the Romans. Catacombs and writings by martyrs document the importance of Christianity in Marseilles as early as the 1st century AD; the Diocese of Marseilles also goes back to this time. Ref: Fussell 145

Latin text on verso with the page number 12, at lower right.

From Civitates Orbis Terrarum (Cities of the World) which revolutionised the view of the world when it was first published. It included over 450 town plans with all their buildings depicted, and to add further interest costumed figures occupy the foreground of most the engravings.