Pietro Bertelli's map of the ancient city of Mantua: the city view that celebrates the pearl of the Gonzaga dynasty

The view of Mantua, created by the renowned publisher and engraver Pietro Bertelli, stands as one of the most significant cartographic records of the Lombard city at the end of the 16th century. The work was included in the Theatrum Urbium Italicarum, a collection of 59 plates depicting Italian cities as perspective views or plans, accompanied by Latin text, and published by Bertelli in Venice in 1599. This map offers a detailed representation of the city of Mantua surrounded by its lakes, highlighting the urban and architectural features that made it one of the most important capitals of the Italian Renaissance. The composition presents a bird’s-eye view encompassing the entire urban fabric, emphasizing the city's unique geographical layout nestled among the waters of the Mincio River. The image precisely captures bridges, gates, fortified walls, and the surrounding lakes, while two large heraldic coats of arms enrich the composition, underscoring the political and cultural importance of the Gonzaga duchy.

BUY THE REPRODUCTION OF "ANCIENT CITY OF MANTUA" BY PIETRO BERTELLI

Style
Pietro Bertelli, active between 1571 and 1621, applies the stylistic canons of the Venetian school of engraving in this map, favoring clarity of presentation and decorative richness. The view reflects the typical approach of the late sixteenth century, when cartographic representation took on celebratory as well as informative functions. The influence of the Flemish tradition emerges in the meticulous attention to architectural detail and the volumetric rendering of buildings, while the spatial conception is derived from the perspective models developed by the Italian Renaissance masters.

Color and lighting
The view appears as a black-and-white copperplate engraving, where tonal values play a fundamental role in spatial definition and the hierarchical organization of elements. The modulation of grays, achieved through the variable density of engraved lines, creates a system of contrasts that emphasizes the three-dimensionality of the representation. The darkest areas correspond to built structures and fortifications, while the water surfaces of the lakes are rendered with more delicate and widely spaced lines, suggesting their fluid nature. Conventional lighting, coming from the upper left in accordance with the cartographic tradition of the period, defines the shadows of the buildings and gives the scene plasticity. The white of the paper emerges in the most illuminated areas, creating an alternating rhythm that guides the viewer’s eye through the composition.

Spatial management
The spatial representation adopts the cavalier perspective typical of Renaissance urban views, allowing for the simultaneous visualization of building plans and elevations. This technical choice makes it possible to reconcile topographic accuracy with the overall legibility of the urban fabric. Depth is achieved through the scaled overlapping of elements, with foreground buildings rendered in greater detail than those in the background. The lakes surrounding the city act as unifying elements, creating a natural frame that defines the urban boundaries and establishes a harmonious relationship between the built environment and the landscape. The distribution of elements follows a principle of expository clarity, avoiding overlaps that might compromise the legibility of topographic information.

Composition and framing
The composition is organized around the urban core of Mantua, centrally positioned within the frame and encircled by a crown of lakes. The compositional balance is reinforced by the symmetrical presence of heraldic coats of arms that frame the view, lending solemnity and formality to the representation. The framing is designed to encompass the entire urban expanse, from the perimeter walls to the outer suburbs, providing a comprehensive vision of the city's structure. The arrangement of architectural elements follows a hierarchical logic that privileges buildings of major political and religious importance, emphasizing their prominence through size and placement. The elevated viewpoint, characteristic of bird’s-eye views, allows for the simultaneous grasp of the city’s morphology and the spatial relationships between its various districts.

Technique and materials
The work was created through copperplate engraving, a technique that enabled the production of prints with great finesse of detail and long-term durability. The support used is high-quality paper, likely of Italian manufacture, ensuring excellent ink adherence and image preservation. The execution process involved direct engraving onto the metal plate using a burin, a tool that allowed the engraver to modulate the thickness and depth of the line based on the pressure applied. This method significantly influenced the final visual result, giving the lines a precision and sharpness impossible to achieve with other graphic techniques. Printing was done with a rolling press, which transferred the ink held in the incised lines onto the paper. The technical quality of the work attests to the high level of craftsmanship reached by Venetian engraving workshops at the end of the 16th century.

This work is a valuable testament to Italian Renaissance urbanism and to the technical mastery achieved by the engraving workshops of the time. Through this magnificent map, we can still admire the splendor of the Gonzaga court and understand the strategic and cultural importance of a city that succeeded in blending nature and architecture in a balance of rare beauty.