The Comune di Mantova purchased the prestigious print collection of the city and the Mantova territory belonging to Tudy Sammartini, widow of the architect and painter, Ugo Sissa. The collection, without number or quality precedence, encompasses rare sights and maps of the city, geographic maps of the Ducato di Mantova, portrayals, historical character prints from the French period and Mantova in the 800s, topographical maps and rare seventh century travel maps. The materials almost completely document the evolution of Mantova’s territorial assets and the State, from the origins of the printing press to the end of the last century.
Apart from many unedited prints, the collection presents more noted and studied images such as the fantastic fourth century sights, realistic bird’s eye views, scientific zenith surveys from the seventh century and the picturesque watercolors destined to decorate the Borghesi houses in the 800s. Il patrimonio acquisito dal Comune di Mantova comprende inoltre numerose raffigurazioni delle imprese militari che hanno coinvolto il territorio mantovano: campagne napoleoniche, battaglie del Quarantotto e del Cinquantanove.
The legacy purchased by the Comune di Mantova encompasses other numerous depictions of military actions that involve the Mantova territory: Napoleon’s schemes and other battles. The variety of prints offers the rare possibility to examine the hydrographic assets of the territory and to observe the evolution of place naming - all the while documenting the course of completed European maps. The Sammartini collection is currently a research project of the catalog program of the S.I.R.Be.C. (Regional Information System of Cultural Values) from the Regione Lombardia. The studied prints are presented to the public during the occasion of temporary exhibits.