HOMANN, J.-B., heirs of. The County and Government...

HOMANN, J.-B., heirs of. The County and Government of Provence. Nuremberg, ca. 1750. Period col. Center fold partly split, paper creased at bottom of boards. Framed. 470 x 580 mm This map is a reprint, by the Héritiers d'Homann, of a map already published in 1715 by the French cartographer Guillaume Delisle. Supposed to represent both the generality and the county of Provence, the map is hardly explicit about the boundaries of this county. The Barcelonnette valley to the northeast is excluded, which is questionable. On the right bank of the Durance, the Comtat Venaissin, under the control of the popes until the French Revolution, is hardly distinguished from the Provencal lands around Apt and Forcalquier. The map is much more accurate than those of his predecessors (Sanson, de Wit, Nolin). However, Roman memories are far from forgotten. The "Chemin Aurélien" remains the main east-west communication route. In and around Nîmes, the Tour Magne, the Temple de Diane, the Pont du Gard and the remains of the Pont du Gard canal are carefully marked, as is the "camp of Marius" (102 B.C.) near Martigues. These ancient indications stand side by side with much more modern ones. Irrigation or drainage canals, whose geometric layout contrasts with that of the roads, are numerous along the Durance, in the Comtat Venaissin and in the Camargue. The cartouche features the "coats of arms of the 36 communities entering the Estats de Provence". Of course, Avignon is not one of them; it is thanks to this list that we can somewhat reconstruct the borders of Provence. - conf. University of Strasbourg libraries Expert: Béatrice Loeb-Larocque