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Map Portolan Atlas of Battista Agnese. Portolano

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About this Item

Title

  • Portolan Atlas of Battista Agnese.

Other Title

  • Portolano

Summary

  • This portolan atlas is attributed to Battista Agnese (1514-64), one of the most important Italian Renaissance cartographers. Of Genoese origin, Agnese was active in Venice from 1536 until his death. He is likely to have directed a full-fledged printing house where his maps were made. He produced approximately 100 manuscript atlases, of which more than 70 still exist, either with his signature or attributed to his studio. Considered works of art for their high quality and beauty, the atlases are mostly portolan, or nautical, atlases printed on vellum for high-ranking officials or wealthy merchants rather than for use at sea. The atlas presented here contains declination tables, an armillary sphere, the zodiac, and maps showing: the east and west coasts of North America; the Atlantic Ocean and west from Arabia to a speculatively shaped east coast of South America; the region from Africa to Southeast Asia; Western Europe; Spain and North Africa; the Mediterranean (several maps); the Black Sea; and the region around Greece and present-day Turkey. Common to most Agnese atlases and present here as well is an oval mappa mundi with cherubs, or wind heads, in blue and gold clouds, which represent the classical 12 wind points out of which evolved the modern compass points. This manuscript was made for Cardinal Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora (1518-64), whose coat of arms is found on folio 1 recto. The binding has a small compass covered by a glass disc embedded in the pastedown. The way in which the known world is represented as an oval projection with equidistant parallels came into common use later on, mainly thanks to the Piedmontese cartographer, engineer, and astronomer Giacomo Gastaldi (circa 1500--circa 1565) and the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator (1512--94). The atlas belonged to Victor Emmanuel II, king of Sardinia from 1849 to 1861 and the first king of united Italy from 1861 until his death in 1878.

Names

  • Agnese, Battista, 1514-1564 Cartographer.
  • Sforza di Santa Fiora, Guido Ascanio, 1518-1564 Patron.
  • Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy, 1820-1878 Owner.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1536 to 1564]

Headings

  • -  1536 to 1564
  • -  Coastlines
  • -  Discoveries in geography
  • -  Mappae mundi
  • -  Portolan charts

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 15 folios (12 maps) : parchment ; 20.6 x 13.8 centimeters.
  • -  Reference extracted from World Digital Library: Maria Rosaria Manunta, "Schede," in Biblioteca Reale Torino, edited by Giovanna Giacobello Bernard (Florence: Nardini, 1990).
  • -  Original resource at: Royal Library of Turin.
  • -  Content in Latin.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021668747

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Agnese, Battista, Cartographer, Guido Ascanio Sforza Di Santa Fiora, and King Of Italy Victor Emmanuel Ii. Portolan Atlas of Battista Agnese. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1564, 1536] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668747/.

APA citation style:

Agnese, B., Sforza Di Santa Fiora, G. A. & Victor Emmanuel Ii, K. O. I. (1536) Portolan Atlas of Battista Agnese. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1564] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668747/.

MLA citation style:

Agnese, Battista, Cartographer, Guido Ascanio Sforza Di Santa Fiora, and King Of Italy Victor Emmanuel Ii. Portolan Atlas of Battista Agnese. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1564, 1536] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021668747/>.