Giovanni Francesco Camocio

Zarra et Contado citta principale della Dalmatia posta sul mare adriatico loco Ihr.me Sri. Venetiani al pnte molestata aa Turchi

      Rare early map of the coast of Dalmatia, centered on the fortified city of Zarra, from Camocio's rare Isole Famose porti, fortezze, e terre maritime . . .  The present example is from the first edition of the map, with no page number in the lower right corner. The map shows the Turkish and Venetian forces at war, symbolic of the conflicts in the region at the time of the publication of the map. Camocio's Isole Famose porti, fortezze, e terre maritime . . .  is quite rare in its complete form and this map is rarely on the market. At the beginning of the 16th Century, Venice still controlled Dalmatia.  However, the anti-Venetian League of Cambrai compelled Venice to withdraw its Dalmatian forces.  After the Battle of Mohács, the Turks were able to easily conquer the greater part of Hungary, putting greater pressure on Dalmatia and other Adriatic states.  Most ofl Dalmatia was conquered by the Turks by 1537. The treaty of 1540 left only the maritime cities and islands to Venice, while the interior became a Turkish province.  The Turkish presense led to an exodus toward the coast, with Croatian refugees moving to the maritime cities and islands in great numbers and increasing the prospective allies available to the Ventians in their counteroffensive against the Tuks.   At the time of the publication of this map, Venice and Turkey were again at war. At the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, a Dalmatian squadron assisted the allied fleets of Spain, Venice, Austria and the Papal States to defeat and cripple the Turkish navy.  (Venice, 1572) [color: Uncolored, size: 9 x 6.5 inches, condition: VG]