1803 / 1820 Johann Walch Map of Italy: Separately Issued

This is an 1820 Johann Walch map of Italy, issued during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). Although initially issued in 1803, the map underwent regular updates due to the tumultuous political changes over the subsequent decades. This 1820 example is the last edition, published by Johann Sebastian, Walch's heir, likely as a separate issue.

A Closer Look

Embracing Italy and environs, the map reaches as far north as Lake Geneva in Switzerland, thus revealing part of France and the southern extents of Germany. The Dalmatian coast and Albania are included as far south as the islands of Cefalonia and Zante. Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily are included in full. Part of the Tunisian coast appears in the extreme south, and the island of Malta intrudes on the bottom border. Scales of miles appear in the lower right, with an elegant oval cartouche containing titles in Italian and German. In the lower left are two legends: one uses a color key to identify political regions, and the other a numerical key to identify the provinces of the Kingdom of Naples.

Tracking Big Changes

The title ('Map of Italy, according to the Present Constitution') refers to the constitution of the 1802-1805 Italian Republic, successor to the Napoleonic Cisalpine Republic. The 1803 map possessed a key in the lower left marking territories controlled by France, Austria, the Italian Republic, the Ligurian Republic, the Republic of Lucca, the Kingdom of Etruria, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of Naples. The borders thus delineated reflect a very brief period. (Etruria would not last beyond 1807, for example.)

The entities highlighted in the current 1820 map are very different. France and Austria are off the list, and the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia is named as a crown land of the Austrian Empire. The largest change is in the delineation of the Kingdom of Naples, which has borders consistent with the 1816 unification of Naples and Sicily.

Publication History and Census

This map was first published by Johann Walch in Augsburg in 1803 for inclusion in his Allgemeiner Atlas. We are aware of editions dated 1806, 1811, 1818, and 1820. Most of these separate maps are cataloged in a few examples. This 1820 state is listed in only four institutional collections.