The first road atlas of any state and one of the most detailed surveys of a state carried out in the sixteenth century.
The work predates the first national road atlas - that of Ogilby's Britannia, by almost 100 years. So detailed and accurate was the mapping, that it would never be published, and would be supressed by the Spanish due to fear that the information could fall into enemy hands.
The present work consist of 12 maps:
1. Provincia de Terr di Lavore.
2. Provincia de Principato Citra.
3. Prov.[inci]a de Principato Ultra.
4. Provincia de Basilicata.
5. Provincia de Calabria Citra.
6. Provincia de Calabria Ultra.
7. Prov.[inci]a di Terra de Otranto.
8. Provincia de Terra de Bari.
9. Provincia de Abruzzo Citra.
10. Provincia de Abruzzo Ultra.
11. Provincia de Contado de Molise.
12. Provincia de Capitanata.

History
Although the Kingdom of Naples had fallen under Spanish rule as early as 1504, it would not be until 1559, with the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis that the territory was formally given over to the Spanish crown. Now safe in in their claim on the new territory, the Spanish set about acquiring detailed information about the land. To this end the viceroy of Naples, probably Juan de Zuniga y Requesens, in around 1580, commissioned a survey of the kingdom.
It would appear that the manuscript surveys of the kingdom, which had been produced by the previous Agevin dynasty, in the fifteenth century, had been either lost or destroyed; with the only contemporary maps of the kingdom, published in Rome and Venice, providing information on the history and general layout of the kingdom, rather than a detailed survey.
The new survey was entrusted to Nicola Antonio Stigliola (1546-1623). Stigliola had studied medicine at the University of Salerno, in 1571, and later moved to Naples, where he turned his attention to architecture. By the early 1580s he had been made topographer to the city of Naples, and would go on to draw up new plans for the city walls, and port, neither of which was implemented.
The survey was began around 1583, as can be ascertained from the following extract, taken form a letter that Stigliola wrote to the great cartographic complier and publisher Abraham Ortelius, dated 16 June 1588:
"Speravo inviandoti qualche dono di poter entrare in amicizia con te. Mi si offriva come pretesto la corografia del Regno di Napoli che sembrava poter essere in breve portata a conclusion. Ma che per una qualche commune calamità si fermò dopo che erano trascorsi già cinque anni. Così che, a meno che non venga in aiuto una qualche grande opportunità, dispero di poterti fare questo dono. Intanto mi dolevo di essere privo del frutto della tua amicizia" (Hessels 1968, p.371).
I was hoping to send you a present, as a token of our friendship. I was going to offer you a map of the Kingdom of Naples, that I had hoped would have been completed by now, but unfortunately, the survey, due to some calamity has had to be abandoned after five years of work. So that, unless someone comes to its rescue, I am in want of a gift for you. (trans.)
What the "calamity" was is not touched on, yet whatever the obstacles the survey had come to a grinding halt, and it would not be until 1591, when cartographer and engraver Mario Cartaro was brought in to work with Stigliola, that surveying work would resume. The two would work together on the survey, until 1595, when Stigliola was arrested and imprisoned on the charge of heresy. A prominent support of the works of Copernicus, Stigliola had been caught up in the arrest of his close friend, the heretical philosopher and theologian, Giordano Bruno, who would later be burnt at the steak in 1600. Fortunately for Stiglioli the charges against him were dropped and he was released later the same year, though not before much of his academic work, including the survey, had been confiscated by the Catholic authorities.
It would appear that the work on the survey was kept by, or given to, Stigliola's surveying partner, Cartaro. As a letter written by him, in 1611, to the then viceroy of Naples, the count of Lemos, states that the survey has been completed, and engraved on 20 sheets. The document, held at the Archive of the Accademia dei Lincei, also contains a later note:
"La presente carta del Regno di Napoli si trova in rarissime volte stante l'essere stata d'ordine di S.M. Cattolica prohibita, come quella che con l'esattezza sua poteria arrecare qualche gelosia".
The map was never divulged or put on the market: the accuracy and amount of information was deemed too dangerous by the Spanish King, who feared, perhaps, that the map would have given an advantage to potential enemies, particularly those coming from the sea. (trans.)
As the above note attests the completed work was never formerly published, as the information contained on the maps was deemed too sensitive, and no examples of the engraved maps are known to have survived. The practice of supressing cartographic information was common in the Spanish Empire, and the only extant institutional examples of Stigliola's work are five manuscript copies made by Mario Cartaro and his son Paolo – ranging in date from circa 1613 to 1642.
The Maps
The maps are on a scale of 1:500,000 (approx. 5km to 1 cm), which makes them one of the largest scale maps of any state produced in sixteenth century. The kingdom would not be mapped again in such detail until 1769, when Galiani and Zannoni published their four sheet survey.
Each regional map consists of the survey to the right and a table to the left. The table lists the longitude and latitude of all the cities, towns, and villages marked on the map, together with the number of hearths in each settlement. The inclusion of the number of hearths provides the principal reason for the commissioning of the survey – tax.
Every state requires a solid tax revenue to function effectively, and the Kingdom of Naples was no different. The hearth (fireplace or chimney) tax, was a relatively progressive form of taxation, as larger houses had more hearths, and was relatively simple to administer, as it was considerably easier to count the number of hearths than heads per household. It was also the states primary source of income.
Hearth surveys in the Kingdom of Naples were carried out on average every 15 years. A new count was supposed to be completed in 1595, the year of Stigliola's arrest, however Philip II's bankruptcy triggered the suspension of that year's count and the subsequent annual payment, in exchange for two immediate, discounted payments. Stigliola's numbers, on the present maps, differ from those of the 1561 and 1596-98 hearth numbers held at the archives of Naples, suggesting that the numbers reference a now lost intermediate survey undertaken in the 1580s, when the bulk of the survey was undertaken.

Apart from the tax raising aspect of the survey the map also depicts coastal towers, bishoprics and archbishoprics, courts of justice, castles, forts and bridges; roads are marked with a distance in Neapolitan miles (i.e. 1845 metres); harbours are marked by a symbol of a ship and a number, either referring to the depth of the water, or to the number of ships the harbour could support; topographical features include mountains, wood, rivers, lakes, and swamps.
Each map is surrounded by a fine decorative border, with each bearing its own motif. For example the heads of birds of prey appear on the sheet for the province of Bari; exaggerated male profiles on the map of Molise; and two mutton heads on Capitanata, home to one of the kingdom's most lucrative taxes: the 'Mena delle pecore' or the duties incurred by shepherds moving their herds from the cold of Abruzzo to the mild temperatures of Puglia.
As Valerio states the decoration on the maps, attest to Stigliola's knowledge and familiarity with the most up-to-date cartographic practices:
"Stigliola's survey of the kingdom provided a sort of national atlas, showing that Naples was abreast of what was happening in other nations. The similarity between the banderols and geometrical motifs he used reveals that Stigliola either had direct knowledge of such works as Christopher Saxton's map of the English counties (1579) or was familiar with the Flemish printed collections of engraved decorative motifs by Hans Vredeman de Vries or Jacob Floris. In addition, the correspondence of Ortelius with Stigliola reveals that at least part of Neapolitan intelligentsia of the day managed to maintain solid scientific contacts with the rest of Italy and northern Europe." (Valerio)
Rarity
Although the present maps are neither signed nor dated, they are, according to Vladimiro Valerio, the earliest known extant examples, dating to around 1595, the year of Stigliola's arrest.
Valerio bases this assertion on several factors. Firstly, the present work contains more geographical data than the other known examples, which would suggest that the maps were drawn before the suppression order. The other known examples omit, some or all of the most sensitive information, such as locations of forts, harbours, and distances between towns. Furthermore the maps are the only examples that do not bear the signature of either Mario or Paolo Cartaro; if one takes this together with their slightly unfinished state: three of the maps still bear pencil gridlines, and others guidelines for the text; then it is conceivable that the present charts were in the possession of Stigliola, when he was arrested in 1595. This would also explain the a absence of the general map from the set, which would have been worked up later, from the surveys of each region.
A close examination of the other known examples suggests that both the examples housed in the BnF (no. 5), and the other Bibliotheca Nacional in Lisbon (no.3), are direct copies of the present work, although with less strategic information. The example housed in the Bibljoteka Nazzjonali Malta (no.6), is in turn a copy of the BnF example.
The six known complete extant examples of Stigliola's work are listed below:
1. The present example, 12 regional maps, circa 1595.
2. Biblioteca Nazionale, Naples: 13 maps, one general, and 12 regional, hand coloured, signed by Mario Cartaro and dated 1613. The maps do not show miles and some other strategic features, the hearths are reported near the town names rather than in a separate table.
3. Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal: 13, one general, and 12 regional, signed PK (Paolo Cartaro, son of Mario), dated 1624, almost exact copy of the present example, although with less military and strategic symbols, hand coloured.
4. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana: 13 maps, one general and 12 regional, with the initials P. C. and dated 1625. This example belonged to cardinal Barberini.
5. BnF, Paris: 13 maps, one general, and 12 regional, signed "Paulus Krtrarus Nap" (i.e. Paolo Cartaro), dated between 1634 and 1636, hand coloured, similar in data to the present example in regards to roads and miles. This example was probably a gift from the King of Spain to the King of France as it has a stamp with the Spanish coat-of-arms and "Philippus IV Dei Gratia Rex".
6. Bibljoteka Nazzjonali, Malta: 13 maps, one general, 12 regional, signed "Paolo Krtarj [i.e. Paolo Cartaro] 1642", probably a copy of the BnF example.
Two sole manuscript maps:
1. The Province of Basilicata, first half of the 17th century, offered for sale in 1982 by Neapolitan bookseller Luigi Regina, now housed in the Soprintendenza della Basilicata
2. Provincia de Terra di Lavoro, within a composite volume on fortresses and architecture now in the Biblioteca Nazionale, Naples.
There are also two later copies of the atlas:
1. Biblioteca Sagarriga Visconti di Bari: 14 maps, unsigned and undated but probably between 1644 and 1665. 2. Cartoteca Historica del Servicio Geográfico del Ejército, Madrid: late 18th century copy, signed "M Cartaro f".