{"product_id":"old-city-map-of-lucca-tuscany-by-merian-1638-walls-moat-piazza-anfiteatro-cathedral-palazzo-pfanner-via-larga","title":"Old City Map of Lucca, Tuscany by Merian, 1638: Walls \u0026 Moat; Piazza Anfiteatro; Cathedral; Palazzo Pfanner; Via Larga","description":"\u003cp\u003eLucca, Tuscany by Matthäus Merian (1638) is a masterful city portrait that fuses Renaissance order with medieval memory. From its exacting depiction of the ring of fortified walls and the broad moat to the lucid rendering of streets converging upon civic spaces, the plan captures the Republic of Lucca at the height of its independence. Merian anchors the composition with the Cathedral of St. Martin and the oval Piazza dell’Anfiteatro—an urban space born from a Roman amphitheater and still legible here in its distinctive contour. As a city map, it is remarkable for the way it lays bare the logic of a living polity: ceremonial centers, markets, workshops, and bastions all interlocked within an elegantly symmetrical enceinte.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fortifications command immediate attention. Lucca’s bastioned polygon—artillery-era engineering at its most refined—unfurls as a choreography of curtains, angular bulwarks, and a capacious moat, each element calibrated to deflect and absorb attack. Merian’s composition emphasizes the mathematical harmony of the walls, a Renaissance ideal applied to defense, while also revealing the practicalities of control: outworks and glacis, the clear sweep of firing lines, and the measured intervals of gates punctuating the circuit. Beyond the ramparts, the open plain underscores the city’s strategic siting on the Serchio basin; within, the secure interior testifies to a government that invested in enduring, meticulous protection of commerce and civic life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWithin this protective ring, the street plan is a study in historical layers. Medieval lanes—Via Buia, Via dei Fogli, and Via delle Monache—thread intimately between parish churches and cloisters, while broader Renaissance spines such as Via Larga and Via di Mezzo impose clarity and flow. Merian’s labeling records the city’s working anatomy: Via della Zecca speaks to minting and governance; Via del Sarto to specialized crafts; Via del Giardino and Via della Rodia hint at gardens, orchards, and irrigation. The urban fabric coheres around nodal spaces: the cathedral precinct; the market radiating from the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro’s graceful ellipse; and administrative courts embedded among guild streets. As a document of urban design, it reveals how circulation, trade, and ritual were elegantly choreographed inside the walls.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLandmarks rise with sculptural clarity. The Cathedral of St. Martin, with its commanding campanile, anchors processional routes and civic identity, while a constellation of churches and public buildings articulate neighborhood life across the quarters. The palatial residence later known as Palazzo Pfanner appears within the dense western fabric, signposting patrician culture and the city’s cultivated domestic gardens. Merian lingers on courtyards, cloisters, and bell towers, recording not just facades but the volumes of space that shaped daily rhythms. Parks as such are scarce in this era, yet greenery softens the urban core—kitchen plots, monastic gardens, and tree-lined margins—while water’s presence, from moat to channels, underwrites sanitation, defense, and industry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMatthäus Merian—one of the 17th century’s most influential engravers and cartographers—brings his hallmark precision to this Italian jewel. Celebrated for his city views and atlases, he unites empirical survey with refined artistry: crisp linework, balanced composition, and judicious use of color to clarify hierarchies of wall, street, and square. In Lucca, Tuscany, he captures a sovereign city whose strength in trade and governance was matched by its architectural poise. For historians, the map is a time-stamped ledger of early modern urbanism; for collectors, it is a tour de force of Renaissance geometry made legible. It remains a notably instructive city map—revealing, at a glance, how form, function, and fortification cohere into a resilient civic whole.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStreets and roads on this map\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia Bacchetto\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia Buia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia dei Fogli\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia del Giardino\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia Larga\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia di Mezzo\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia delle Monache\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia della Rodia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia della Storia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia del Sarto\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVia della Zecca\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotable Features \u0026amp; Landmarks\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCathedral of St. Martin (Duomo di San Martino)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFortified walls\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMoat\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePiazza dell'Anfiteatro\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePalazzo Pfanner\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVarious churches and public buildings\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical and design context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreated by: Matthäus Merian\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublication Year: 1638\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMapmaker Context: Merian was a notable 17th-century cartographer and engraver, famous for his detailed maps and work on various atlases during the Renaissance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical Context: Reflects Renaissance architectural style blending with medieval fortifications, showcasing Lucca's rich history.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThemes and Topics: Emphasizes military architecture (fortified walls and moat), urban design, and architectural heritage, with features like the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro and the Cathedral of St. Martin.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDesign and Style: Detailed urban layout with a focus on symmetry and color, emphasizing the city's fortifications and street layout.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical Significance: Represents Lucca’s defense strategies against invasions and reflects its significance as a center of trade and governance during the Renaissance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 70in (180cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003ebest old maps\u003c\/a\u003e to see if something else catches your eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003econtact me\u003c\/a\u003e to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex\/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":57597886038400,"sku":"UM00264756A","price":362.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":57597886071168,"sku":"UM00264757A","price":974.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":57597886103936,"sku":"UM00264758A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":57597867622784,"sku":"UM00264759A","price":362.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":57597867655552,"sku":"UM00264760A","price":974.0,"currency_code":"CNY","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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