Parvvm Theatrvm Vrbivm sive Vrbivm Praecipvarvm Totivs Orbis Brevis Et Methodica Descriptio
Parvum Theatrum Urbium is a 1595 Latin town book compiled by Adriaan van Roomen and edited by Nikolaus Basse, issued from Heidelberg for scholars and readers interested in European cities. Its pages pair dense black-letter text with small woodcut views of walled towns, rivers, bridges and hills, each drawn in a plain, orderly perspective. A designer could take from them the compact bird's-eye city panorama, with its skyline of towers and spires set against a flat horizon.
