18th-century manuscript postal map from Milan to Venice on heavy laid paper with watermark. Measures 555 x 145 mm. Finely painted in watercolor. Ancient chorographic map depicting the Italian postal road system, specifically the post stations and the overland and lakeside roads that cross the Lombardy-Veneto region. From the second half of the 18th century, there was an evolution in the extrinsic aspects of postal maps: the pictorial description of the geography of places diminished steadily, until it disappeared altogether, while the characterization of the roads and the services offered, the post stations, became more prominent; the main road is intersected only by the hydrography of rivers and lakes. A beautiful example with fascinating coloring, minimal light stains at the outer edges.