From about 1544, many individual maps where printed in Italy, especially in the important trading centers of Rome and Venice. Each publisher worked independently, producing maps based upon their own needs. The maps often varied dramatically in size. Events April 11 - Battle of Ceresole - French forces under the Comte dEnghien defeat Imperial forces under the Marques Del Vasto near Turin. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC (mythical), early 1st millennium BC (archaeological) Region Latium Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia), nicknamed the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice in Italy. ...

Over time, it became common to bind the maps together into composite works. Although the term atlas was not in use in 1544, these works are now called "IATO" atlases - (Italian, Assembled to Order) or more frequently "Lafreri atlases" after one of the leading publishers of the period.

Each of the atlases was put together based on the requirements of the client out of a list of available maps, so there are no two identical such atlases. Today about 60-70 such atlases are known, most of them in institutions. These atlases are very important to the history of cartography as a big number of Italian maps of the 16th century have survived due to these atlases.

Because of their lovely engraving style and their rarity, Lafreri maps are very valued by antique maps collectors.

Cartographers of the Lafreri atlases

Here are the most important cartographers that were involved in some way in the publication of the Lafreri maps and atlases:

• Giacomo Gastaldi - Venice, the most important Italian mapmaker of his time
• Antonio Lafreri - the Roma publisher of some of the composite atlases
• Antonio Salamanca - Lafreri's partner
• Giovani Francesco Camocio - Venice
• Donato Bertelli - Venice
• Ferando Bertelli - Venice
• Paolo Forlani - Venice

Links

Here are some external links about Lafreri atlases:

• http://www.mapforum.com/01/lafreri.htm
• http://www.mostlymaps.com/reference/Map-Makers/lafreri-school.php