View of Venice

[4] The six large wooden printing blocks would have been carved by professional cutters, following preparatory drawings made by Jacopo de' Barbari.

[5] The British Library quotes an article by art historian Martin Kemp in 1991 in which he says it is "an achievement of astonishing visual and intellectual control".

[6] The print shows Venice and the surrounding islands in the Venetian lagoon, including Burano, Giudecca, Mazzorbo, Murano, and Torcello.

Rather, according to Schulz, de' Barbari seems to have started his drawing on the right side (east), perhaps based on plans used for maintenance of the city's waterways, and progressively compressed and distorted the scale as he ran out of space moving towards the left (west) edge.

[7] Howard notes the continued dolphin-like representation of the city's outline in maps made as late as the 19th century, echoing de' Barbari's print.

The letters refer to the traditional labels of the compass rose: Tramontana to the north, Greco to the northeast, Levante to the east, Sirocco to the southeast, Ostro to the south, Affricus to the southwest, Ponente to the west, and Maestro (Mistral) to the northwest.

[5] The two gods are slightly offset from the centre of the composite print to lie either side of and emphasise the important area from the Rialto to the Piazza San Marco.

Today it is confidently attributed to the Venetian painter and printmaker Jacopo de' Barbari, whose details recall German masters.

[5] To recoup the costs the prints had to be sold at least for three ducats,[5] a considerable sum, similar to the monthly wage of a master painter.

The first state published in 1500 shows St Mark's Campanile with a temporary flat roof after it was struck by lightning and caught fire in 1489.