Temple of Saint Francis on Monte Velebich, Lithograph, circa 1840

An original antique lithograph, uncolored, circa 1840. The caption below the image reads "VEDUTA DEL TEMPIO DEDICATO A S. FRANCESCO sul MONTEVELEBICH", view of the temple dedicated to Saint Francis on the Velebit mountain.

A small domed chapel with a pedimented portico and a cross on its dome stands on a stepped platform in the center, with people gathered on its steps, and the bare, jagged peaks of the range rise behind it. A road climbs in a long line across the mountainside at the left. In the foreground a heavy coach stands at the left beside women and children in local dress, its team of horses ridden by two postilions toward the center, and on the right armed men with muskets stand near a two story building. A man seated on a rock smokes a long pipe beside his musket, and a few sheep and a goat graze in the open ground before him.

Two verse couplets flank the caption. The left reads "D'Austria l'Imperator Francesco il Pio Sul Monte Bebio regia strada aprio", Francis the Pious, Emperor of Austria, opened a royal road over Mount Bebio. The right reads "E di Dalmazia il popolo devoto D'Assisi al Santo eresse un tempio in voto", and the devout people of Dalmatia raised a temple as a votive offering to the Saint of Assisi.

Below the image is the printer's line "Prem: Litografia Antonelli". There is no artist's credit and no date on the sheet. The road over the Velebit celebrated in the verses was begun in 1825 and completed in 1832. The print dates from after the road's completion; the date given here is an estimate.

Even age toning. Handling soiling along the right and top edges. Foxing over much of the margin. All four corners complete. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the bottom. Several larger brown marks.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.