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Map of Antwerp

This famous woodcut by Virgilius Bononiensis shows Antwerp in 1565. Bononiensis – or Boloniensis – may have been an Italian from Bologna. The rich trading city of Antwerp attracted many Europeans in the 16th century.

Monumental woodcut

This well-known view of Antwerp is a monumental hand-coloured woodcut that is no less than 120 cm high and 265 cm wide. It was printed on 20 sheets of handmade paper. This is the only known surviving copy.
 

Bononiensis or Boloniensis

The creator of this plan, Virgilius Bononiensis or Boloniensis, may have been an Italian from Bologna who had moved to the rich trading city of Antwerp. The Antwerp printer Gillis Coppens van Diest printed the plan in September 1565. The text of the description of Antwerp in the cartouche is by Cornelius Grapheus.
 

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foto: Ans Brys

What is there to see?

Discover the magic of the Museum. In mansion and printing press. In room and studio. In letters and typography. In beautiful books. Experience how, long before our digital age, words and images were spread around the world.

Dive into the collection

The Museum Plantin-Moretus presents three hundred years of book-printing art and family history. You can admire the oldest printing presses in the world and a rich collection of art, including portraits by Rubens. In the library, you will find manuscripts, incunabula and original prints. And the archives tell you about daily life in both the printing works and the mansion.

detail van een oude drukpers

Highlights

In the Museum Plantin-Moretus, the oldest printing presses in the world are not the only things to discover. The original lead type of fonts such as Garamond, the Gutenberg Bible and ancient manuscripts tell the story of how writing evolved into the art of printing. Portraits by Peter Paul Rubens hang on the walls and the house is beautifully furnished. Check out the indispensable highlights here.

man kijkt naar Bononiensiskaart

ExxonMobil sponsors

Thanks to ExxonMobil, visitors can now admire the unique Urbs Antverpia map of Antwerp in digital form. The Museum keeps the map by Virgil Bononiensis in its collection storage.

Museum Plantin-Moretus

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