Other 17th-century conflicts
Printed and manuscript maps, prints and views of 22 seventeenth-century wars
Siege of Asti, 1615
ASTI CITTA
1615 or laterEtching and engraving; printed on paper; mounted in paper, mount cropped (Mount Type A) | 42.5 x 62.4 cm (image and sheet) | RCIN 721134
A middle oblique view of the siege of Asti, in May 1615 between Spanish forces, commanded by Juan de Mendoza y Velasco, Marquis de la Hinojosa, Governor of Milan, and troops of Charles Emmanuel I (12 January 1562-26 July 1630), Duke of Savoy resulting in a Peace Treaty between the two sides. Montferrat War of Succession (1613-1630). Oriented with south to top (compass rose).
This view shows the disposition, camps and siegeworks of the besieging Italian and German regiments which were fighting on the Spanish side. The following names appear on the view: Gio: bravo; Gambalotta; Milano; Tedeschi; Napoli, Urbino, and Lucca. This view is dedicated to Lucca which was the second largest independent Italian city state at that time.
The Battle of Asti in May 1615 against Piedmontese troops included, in the Spanish side, forces from Tuscany, Parma, Lucca and Urbino (Hanlon, p.65). The battle had taken place near Asti and resulted in the retreat of the Savoyards towards the town at which point the Duke of Savoy was able to rally his troops but, just when his certain defeat seemed to be inevitable, the French ambassador brokered a peace treaty in that same year which became known as the Treaty, or Peace of Asti (Hereford, vol.III, pp.55-56) which ended the Monferrat War of Succession.
Anonymous (printmaker)
Watermark: Six-point star in a circle, cross above
Condition: four fold lines. Verso: remains of Mount Type A on verso; no gilt edges
42.5 x 62.4 cm (image and sheet)
cropped (platemark)
Printed title:
ASTI CITTA [top centre, in a scroll]
Dedication:
[bottom left, in a cartouche decorated with military emblems, surmounted by an escutcheon, crown above, with the motto of Lucca province, Tuscany: ‘LIBERTAS’, with the symbol of the province, a leopard, to each side:] EXCELLENTISS. REIP. / LVCENSI ….
Additional text:
[below dedication:] Soldatesca di S.M. Cattolica Posta Sotto Asti L'Anno 1615 [followed by a table of the numbers of soldiers attached to the various named forces or regiments.]
Annotations:
George III heading: Asti 1615.
Other annotations: (Recto) none. (Verso) [bottom right, red pencil:] 1/117; [bottom right, black pencil, indistinct:] I/1[24]; [top, right of centre, black pencil:] Asti.
George III catalogue entry:
Asti A view of the Siege of Asti by the Spaniards in 1615.
Subject(s)
Asti, Piedmont, Italy (44°54ʹ05ʺN 08°12ʹ27ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
G. Hanlon, The twilight of a military tradition: Italian aristocrats and European conflicts, 1560-1800, London, 2008
C. J. A. Hereford, The history of Spain: from the establishment of the colony of Gades by the Phœnicians, to the death of Ferdinand, surnamed the Sage, 3 vols, London, 1793
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2816
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
