A New Mappe of the Romane Empire - John Speed, 1626. (Antique Map In Color)
This map gives you a 17th century view of the Roman Empire on one print. The Mediterranean, Italy and the surrounding lands sit on a warm parchment style background, and the city views and figures in costume turn the border into a little picture gallery that looks great next to books, wood and brass in a study or living room.
To learn more about the history of these pieces and how we craft them in our family workshop, feel free to read our full guide to antique map prints.
About this map printThis print is based on A New Mappe Of The Romane Empire, engraved by English mapmaker John Speed in the early 1600s for his historical atlas. The main map shows the Roman Empire at its greatest reach, from Britain and Gaul across Italy and Greece to North Africa and the Near East, with clear coastlines and Latin place names. Along the top border you can see small views of major cities such as Rome, Venice and Constantinople, and down the sides stand people in regional dress, a favourite trick of 17th century mapmakers who wanted to show both the lands and the people who lived there.
If you know Ortelius’s Romani Imperii Imago, this map feels almost like an English reply to it: the basic outline of the Empire is similar, but instead of medallions and family trees, Speed frames his map with city views and costume figures. The busy borders also sit very close in spirit to big baroque world maps like Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis, where geography and illustration are treated as equally important parts of the design.
If you are curious about the history behind this piece, we put together a short background on this map for you to read.
Craft & finish
Every replica we make is individually hand-processed in our family workshop. We finish the paper with a traditional beeswax seal to give it a warm, heavy texture. Our team also adds subtle gold paint details by hand to help the artwork truly shine. To complete the look, we hand-burn the edges to give each piece the feel of a true historical artifact.
While our smaller sizes are perfect for gallery walls, our 43x61 cm Large replica is a museum-scale centerpiece. Because of the size, the hand-processing and beeswax application take much longer. This extra time and care ensures that every centimeter of the historic illustration is preserved with a rich, authentic glow.
Find more prints like this in our Antique Maps collection.
A New Mappe Of The Romane Empire (John Speed, 1626) - Antique Roman Empire Map
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At Artifex Historical Replicas, we bridge the gap between museum archives and your home. Each piece is a handcrafted historical art print recreated from authentic primary sources, including antique city views and botanical illustrations.
Hand-Processed Paper: We use specialized paper with burned edges and a beeswax finish to replicate the weight and feel of genuine old parchment.
Gilded Details: Our workshop adds subtle real gold accents, bringing the same glow to your walls found in 16th-century illuminated manuscripts.
Custom Sizes & Worldwide Shipping: We offer bespoke sizing for custom frames and ship our historical replicas globally from our family workshop.
Explore our full guide on how we create, display, and restore parchment-style replicas.
