{"product_id":"old-naval-map-of-nice-france-by-bellin-1764-mont-boron-forts-baie-des-anges-paillon-r-castle-hill-harbor-quays","title":"Old Naval Map of Nice, France by Bellin, 1764: Mont Boron forts, Baie des Anges, Paillon R., Castle Hill, harbor quays","description":"\u003cp\u003ePlan de Nice is Jacques Nicolas Bellin’s evocative portrait of a Mediterranean city poised between mountain and sea, published in 1764 within his monumental five-volume Petit Atlas Maritime. Bellin fixes Nice at a pivotal moment, when its medieval core still pressed against the shoreline even as strategic works and new commercial quays pulled it outward. This is an especially notable city map because it treats Nice not only as a defensible stronghold but as a living organism—streets, markets, waterfront, and approaches all resolved with the precision of a naval engineer. The result is a rare synthesis of urban and maritime intelligence that reveals how the city’s everyday life nested inside its coastal geography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWithin the walls, Bellin’s burin captures the tight weave of Vieux Nice: a lattice of narrow lanes converging on churchyards, cloisters, and bustling market squares. The plan distinguishes residential clusters from mercantile quarters, where warehouses and workshops hug the approaches to the quays. The Paillon River, then an open watercourse, threads the plan as both barrier and artery, crossed by bridges that regulate movement between the old town and nascent expansions. The street patterns—organic within the ancient core, more rational as they fan toward the riverbanks—provide a lucid reading of how topography and trade shaped daily routes through the city.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrue to Bellin’s maritime vocation, the coastline is articulated with crisp exactitude: the arc of the Baie des Anges, the promontories of Castle Hill and Mont Boron, and the carefully drawn shorelines that frame anchorage and landing points. Quays, slips, and protective moles appear in measured relation to the city streets, linking harbor logistics to inland markets. Soundings and a prominently placed scale bar underscore the chart-like utility of the plan, while the orientation makes immediate sense to a navigator approaching from sea. In Bellin’s hands, Nice’s waterfront becomes a hinge—turning between coastal currents and the city’s commercial bloodstream.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fortifications around Mont Boron receive uncommon attention, a testament to Nice’s strategic role on the Franco-Italian frontier. Bellin delineates the ridgeline defenses and their communication with the bastioned traces nearer the town, revealing overlapping fields of fire that command the approaches from sea and from the hills. The great works on and around Mont Boron—tied visually to the survivals and platforms of Castle Hill—form a defensive crescent that both shelters and constrains the urban fabric below. It is this dialogue between elevated redoubts and low-lying streets that makes the plan so compelling: the city is read simultaneously as a fortress system and as a place of exchange.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBellin, Hydrographer to the French Navy, brought the discipline of the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine to every plate he oversaw, and the Plan de Nice exemplifies his hallmark clarity. Finely engraved hachures render hills and escarpments; an ornate cartouche lends ceremonial gravitas; and the contrast between gridded expansions and the maze of the old town reflects contemporary thinking in urban design. As a document of 18th-century architectural and military planning, it captures Nice before later transformations, preserving the alignment of river, roads, and ramparts at the very moment they orchestrated the city’s destiny on the Mediterranean stage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStreets and roads on this map\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAvenues\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoulevard\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue des Alpes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue des Baumettes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue de France\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue de l’Observatoire\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue de la Buffa\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue de la Liberté\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue de la République\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue de la Sardine\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue des Bains\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue Louis de Vins\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue Maréchal Joffre\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue Saint-Étienne\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue Tonduti de l'Escarène\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuai des États-Unis\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuai de la République\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePromenade des Anglais\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAvenue du Parc\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlace Garibaldi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlace Masséna\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue de la Préfecture\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue Masséna\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAvenue Victor Hugo\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoulevard Jean Jaurès\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAvenue de la Victoire\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoulevard Carabacel\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue de l'Hôpital\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRue du Riou\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePasserelle Saint-Sauveur\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotable Features \u0026amp; Landmarks\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFortifications around Mont Boron.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCoastal layout of Nice.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePatterns of urban streets.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRiver and shoreline indications.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKey landmarks, such as residential and commercial areas.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eScale bar indicating distances.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical and design context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA finely engraved plan of Nice.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFeatured in Jacques Nicolas Bellin's monumental 5-volume Petit Atlas Maritime.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncludes a detailed overview of the fortifications around Mont Boron.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMade in 1764.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMapmaker: Jacques Nicolas Bellin.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNoted for his contributions to maritime cartography during the 18th century and work for the French Navy.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUrban planning and fortifications.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThematic representation of a coastal city, showcasing both land and sea features.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUtilizes fine engraving techniques typical of the 18th century.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFeatures ornate cartouche and well-defined patterns representing urban layouts and natural landscapes.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReflects architectural and military planning in 18th-century France.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProvides insight into the development of Nice during the period, especially its defensive structures.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/de\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the \u003ca href=\"\/de\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003ebest old maps\u003c\/a\u003e to see if something else catches your eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease \u003ca href=\"\/de\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003econtact me\u003c\/a\u003e to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex\/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":58722030485888,"sku":null,"price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58722030518656,"sku":null,"price":145.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58722030551424,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58722030584192,"sku":null,"price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58722030616960,"sku":null,"price":145.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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