Naples

Date1730

Engraver Bishop Roberts (d. 1739)

MediumLine engraving on laid paper with hand coloring

DimensionsOverall: 28 7/8 × 21 3/16 in (73.34 × 53.82cm)
Platemark: 25 3/4 × 18 1/8 in (65.4 × 46.04cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2026-4

DescriptionThe top left corner reads, "To/Char. Frye/ Esq.r/ This Plate is humbly Dedicated/ by his most humble Serv.t/ Andrew Elton."
The text book below the chart reads, "NAPLES one of the largest finest & most flourishing Cities in all Italy is Seated on a Gulf of the same Name & has a Spacious and large/ Road on the Mediterranean The Sea washes it on ye South Side On ye North are little Hills which rise insensibly into Compania Faelix/ on the East is a Plain which leads to Mount Vesuvius and on the West the upper Town. This City is defended by 3 Castles & adornd/ with a vast Number of Palaces Churches Monasteries Publick Fountains. The King of Spain used to appoint a Vice Roy who was Chang'd/ generally Every three Years but now they are Subject to the Emperor. About 8 Miles from Naples is the famous Mount Vesuvius/ noted for its Continual Fires. I has had Twelve dreadfull Eruptions since the birth of Jesus Christ particularly yt wherein Pliny/ the Elder Lost his Life and another noted one in 1631 when the Sea retir'd Several Paces and Streams of Fire & burning/ Liquid matter ran thereinto Many Villeges were then overthrown about 3000 Persons wth a vast Number of Cattle perish'd & Naples/ itself was threatened wth a general Destruction However Mr. Mifson assures us yt the Country there about is very Rich & ye East Side of ye/ Mountain itself bears abundance of good Vines so yt from thence we have ye famous Greco Malatste and Lochryme Christi."
The lower margin reads, "Bishop Roberts Sculp."Label TextThis chart assists sea captains in their navigation to access the Bay of Naples, as well as discussing Mount Vesuvius and the volcano's history of destruction in the region. Captain Andrew Elton, the creator of this chart, was an English sea captain associated with the Levant (or Turkey) Company, a royal chartered private syndicate that had held a monopoly over English trade with the Ottoman Empire since 1592. Elton visited Naples during his maritime activities. He dedicated this chart to Charles Frye (ca. 1672-1767), who was a "turkey merchant" for the Levant Company. This chart of Naples was inserted in a Dutch composite atlas and was accompanied by seven other charts of Italian and Greek sea ports.

The chart was engraved by Bishop Roberts (d. 1739) who later moved to North America, first New Jersey and then Charleston, South Carolina. In Charleston, he drafted and engraved a view of the city. Roberts' watercolor of Charleston (CWF 1956-103) and subsequent engraving (CWF 1936-725) are both in Colonial Williamsburg's collection.ProvenanceBefore 2026, Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps (La Jolla, CA); 2026-present, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)