A finely coloured bird’s eye view of Venice initially issued in Matthaus Merian’s impressive historical work entitled “Theatrum Europaeum”, first published ca 1633 and containing bird’s eye view engravings of numerous European cities and towns together with their history. In this very detailed view of the city and its surrounding islands, which is printed on two joined sheets, all the important Venetian sites are shown and identified including, Saint Mark’s Cathedral and Square, the Doges Palace, the Rialto Bridge and the Arsenal. The Grand Canal is shown with a procession of vessels, including the Doges’ barge, and many other sailing ships appear throughout. The map is further decorated with the coat of arms of the Venetian Republic featuring the winged lion, which was removed in later printings when the plate was re-engraved. The map has been backed with Japanese paper and has some repairs to the blank margins; otherwise it is a lovely, dark impression in very good condition. 30 cm x 71 cm