Corfu & Iraklion,Crete - CANDIA ,LA CITA DE CORPHU.

A copper engraved sheet with two bird's-eye/panoramic views: Crete - Heraklion & Corfu (Kérkyra). From: Civitates Orbis Terrarum, ... Part 2. Köln, 1575.
CRETE - HERAKLION. COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Candia is the name of the capital after which the island is also named. Acting like a wall the surrounding mountains fortify the town, it has a harbor, protected naturally and by human hands so that ships can dock safe from the ravages of the sea, with a strong and sturdy tower, from which the harbor, with all its commodities, can be protected from enemy attack."
The plate depicts the town of Heraklion, on the north coast of Crete, from the sea. The town was settled as early as the Bronze Age by the Minoans, one of the earliest advanced civilizations in Europe.
From ca.1100 BC the Dorians lived here; they named their settlement Herakleia, because, according to mythology, Heracles captured the Cretan Bull here. Following Byzantine rule (395-1204) Crete became, in the 13th century, part of the Republic of Venice, when the name was Italianized to "Candia", which was used to designate the entire island. In 1239 the Venetians erected St Mark's basilica, the Agios Markos (center), and the archdiocese. Ottoman attacks in the 15th and 16th centuries led to the construction of the formidable 5.5-km-long city wall and to a fortress in the harbor.

CORFU (KERKYRA). COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "This town lies on the island of Corfu, in a range of mountains that juts into the Ionian Sea. At the highest point of these mountains lies a castle, called the New Castle, and on a lower point, one that is called the Old Castle. Both have well-fortified walls and are covered with mighty battlements and bastions."
The bird's-eye view from the east depicts the town of Corfu with the island, seen in the foreground, where both the New and Old Castle are located. The town of Corfu was founded around 590 BC with the erection of the Artemis Temple. According to Homer, Odysseus was stranded here and taken in by the emperor's daughter Nausikaa.
From 229 BC Corfu belonged to the Roman Empire, and from AD 395 to the Byzantine Empire. The Old Castle was built in the 6th century; in the 16th century, it was extended with the structure titled here Castell Novo.

The Civitates Orbis Terrarum, or the "Braun & Hogenberg", is a six-volume town atlas and the greatest book of town views and plans ever published: 363 engravings, sometimes beautifully colored. It was one of the best-selling works in the last quarter of the 16th century. Georg Braun wrote the text accompanying the plans and views on the verso. A large number of the plates were engraved after the original drawings of Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600), who was a professional artist.
The first volume was published in Latin in 1572, the sixth volume in 1617. Frans Hogenberg created the tables for volumes I through IV, and Simon van den Neuwel created those for volumes V and VI. Other contributors were cartographer Daniel Freese, and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, Sebastian Münster, and Johannes Stumpf were also used. Translations appeared in German and French.

Reference: Van der Krogt 4, 1901, State 1; Taschen, Br. Hog., p.194; Fauser, #2298 & #6507.