Antonio Zatta. Messico. Venice, 1785.

Antonio Zatta (Italian, fl. 1757–1797)
Messico ovvero Nuova Spagna che continene il nuovo Messico la California con una parte de Paesi adjacenti
Venice, 1785
Engraved map with original hand color
[Sheet size: 14 13/16 x 19 1/2 in.]

Antonio Zatta’s 1785 map of Mexico and the American Southwest offers a richly detailed and beautifully hand-colored European perspective on New Spain during a period of intense colonial competition and exploration. Drawing from contemporary Spanish and French sources, the map encompasses present-day Mexico, New Mexico, California, and parts of the western United States, capturing both political divisions and geographic misconceptions that marked Enlightenment-era cartography. Published in Venice as part of Zatta’s influential Atlante Novissimo, it reflects Italy’s engagement with the global discoveries of other colonial powers and serves as a compelling visual record of how the Americas were imagined—and claimed—by European mapmakers.