Franco-Spanish War (1635-59)
Contemporary maps and prints of the major battles and sieges from 1635 to 1658
Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat, 1635
DISEGNO DELL’ ISOLE S.te MARGARITA E, S. ONORATO OCCVPATE E, FORTIFICATE DAL MARCHESE SANTA CROCE
1635 or laterEtching and engraving; printed on paper; mounted on paper (Mount Type A); gilt edges right and bottom | 24.6 x 34.9 cm (image and sheet) | RCIN 722102
A high oblique view of the islands of Sainte-Marguerite and Saint Honorat, showing the fortifications and the encampments of the Spanish army. Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659). Oriented with north-east [Greco] to top (compass or wind rose with letters denoting the wind directions).
The invading Spanish naval force comprised a mix of galleys and other ships commanded by the Neapolitans Álvaro de Bazán, 2nd Marquis of Santa Cruz (12 September 1571-1646), García Álvarez de Toledo, 6th Marquis of Villafranca (25 April 1579-21 January 1649) and Lelio Brancaccio (c.1560-1637), Marquis of Montesilvano and Cavaliere di Malta napolitano.
The invasion took place on 13 September 1635 and was followed by a period of a couple of years in which the Spanish forces extended and strengthened existing forts and built new ones before the French re-took the islands in 1637. This print shows the new fortifications and must, therefore, have been made sometime later than 1635.
Cesare Bassano (1583-1648) (engraver) [bottom right, inside neatline:] Bassano F.
Watermark: Map: none visible. Mount: none.
Condition: two fold lines; some slight offsetting along the top from what appears to be the title of another copy of the same map; brown discolouration to recto and verso; slight surface dirt to mount; pressure marks from the mounts of items which were kept above and below this map/print in a different collection are present on the recto and verso
Old heading: The Islands of S.t Marguerite and S.t Honorat taken by the Spaniards in 1635. Other inscriptions: (Recto) [bottom right, black pencil:] 1635; [top right, black pencil, erased:] S.t Marguerite; [top centre, black pencil, erased, illegible]. (Verso) none.
23.7 x 34.9 cm (neatline)
24.6 x 34.9 cm (image and sheet)
cropped (platemark)
41.0 x 51.2 cm (mount)
Printed title:
DISEGNO DELL’ ISOLE S.te MARGARITA E, S. ONORATO OCCVPATE E, FORTIFICATE DAL MARCHESE SANTA CROCE [across top of view, above neatline]
Additional text:
[bottom left, a key, A-E, G-H, K-T, V, X-Z, to the islands and mainland, the French and Spanish fortifications, the Italian infantry quarters, wells, stagnant water, etc.]
Annotations:
George III heading: The Islands of S.t Marguerite and S.t Honorat taken by the Spaniards in 1635.
Other inscriptions: (Recto) [bottom right, black pencil:] 1635; [top right, black pencil, erased:] S.t Marguerite; [top centre, black pencil, erased, illegible]. (Verso) none.
George III catalogue entry:
Marguerite, Ste Disegno dell’ Isole S. Margarita e S. Onorato occupate e fortificate dal Marchese Santa Croce, 1635: da Bassano. [The same entry appears under the heading Honorat, S.t.]
Subject(s)
Île Sainte-Marguerite, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azure, France (43°31ʹ08ʺN 07°03ʹ04ʺE)
Île Saint-Honorat, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azure, France (43°30ʹ27ʺN 07°02ʹ45ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2998
P. Gioffredo, Monumenta Historiae Patriae edita iussu Regis Caroli Alberti. Scriptores II. Storia delle Alpi Marittime, XXVI, Augustaae Taurinorum e Regio Typographeo, 1839, [not paginated], columns 1882-3
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
