The city of Valletta in an eighteenth century map realized by Sebastiano Ittar

Abstract

In this paper a virtually unknown cartographic representation will be analyzed: the planimetry of Valletta, which was realized in the late eighteenth century by the architect Sebastiano Ittar. Through the analysis of this map, the paper aims at reconstructing not only the cartographic techniques but also the representation and interpretation of the urban area: the map may serve to reconstruct the knowhow of a late eighteenth - early nineteenth century professional cartographer and the complex relationships between space and urban society. To date very little research activity about the architect and his works has been conducted; the planimetry of Valletta, however, has been the subject of short essays by Albert Ganado and Giuseppe Dato