Castrovalva is a lithograph

Lithography

Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...

 print by the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 artist M. C. Escher

M. C. Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher , usually referred to as M. C. Escher , was a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints...

, first printed in February 1930. Like many of Escher's early works, it depicts a place that he visited on a tour of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

It depicts the Abruzzi village of Castrovalva

Castrovalva (Abruzzi)

Castrovalva is a frazione of Anversa degli Abruzzi, a comune in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. The village, which clings to the top of a steep hill, was depicted in M.C. Escher's 1930 lithograph "Castrovalva".-See also:...

, which lies at the top of a sheer slope. The perspective is toward the northwest, from the narrow trail on the left which, at the point from which this view is seen, makes a hairpin turn to the right, descending to the valley. In the foreground at the side of the trail, there are several flowering plants, grasses, ferns, a beetle and a snail. In the expansive valley below there are cultivated fields and two more towns, the nearest of which is Anversa degli Abruzzi

Anversa degli Abruzzi

Anversa degli Abruzzi is a comune and town in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy-Points of interest:* Giardino Botanico Gole del Sagittario* Botanical Garden at the Sorgenti del Cavuto...

, with Casale

Casale

Casale, Italian from the late Latin casalis for an isolated house, or group of houses, in the countryside, may refer to:-People:*Gerald Casale musician*Giovanni Casale , an Italian judoka*Giuseppe Casale Italian bishop...

in the distance.

In Popular Culture

• In 1982 the name "Castrovalva" was used in a story in the BBC
  BBC
  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
  
   television series Doctor Who
  Doctor Who
  Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
  
  . The storyline also relied heavily on recursion
  Recursion
  Recursion is the process of repeating items in a self-similar way. For instance, when the surfaces of two mirrors are exactly parallel with each other the nested images that occur are a form of infinite recursion. The term has a variety of meanings specific to a variety of disciplines ranging from...
  
  , a favorite theme in Escher's later and more famous works, and used ideas taken from Belvedere
  Belvedere (M. C. Escher)
  Belvedere is a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher, first printed in May 1958. It shows a plausible-looking building which turns out to be impossible....
  
  , Ascending and Descending
  Ascending and Descending
  Ascending and Descending is a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher which was first printed in March 1960.The original print measures 14" x 11 1/4”. The lithograph depicts a large building roofed by a never-ending staircase. Two lines of identically dressed men appear on the staircase,...
  
  , and Relativity
  Relativity (M. C. Escher)
  Relativity is a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher, first printed in December 1953.It depicts a world in which the normal laws of gravity do not apply. The architectural structure seems to be the centre of an idyllic community, with most of its inhabitants casually going about their...
  
  to trap the protagonists in the city of Castrovalva.
• The comic Kingdom of the Wicked
  Kingdom of the Wicked
  Kingdom of the Wicked is a comic book series written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by D'Israeli. It was published as a mini-series in 1996 and collected into a hardcover volume in 2004.-Publication history:...
  
  is set in an imaginary world named Castrovalva.

See also

• Printmaking
  Printmaking
  Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
  
  
• Derivative works

Escher's work was a source of ideas for a number of related works. For instance, "Castrovalva" was an inspiration for a (color) oil painting by R. Dimitric ("Italian Spring", oil on canvas, 16in x 20in).

Sources

• Locher, J.L. (2000). The Magic of M. C. Escher. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 0-8109-6720-0.