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Candia. IX Feuille

admin@IDRMPS — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 07:50:18 +0000

This large nautical chart is sheet no. 9 of the famous Carte de la Mer Méditerranée en douze feuilles, an ambitious work created by Joseph Roux of Marseille in 1764. The entire series, consisting of twelve sheets, provided a comprehensive view of the Mediterranean basin and the Sea of Marmara, serving as an essential reference tool for navigation at the time.

The map focuses on the southern part of the island of Candia (Crete) and the long stretch of coastline known as Barbaria (the present-day North African coast, which at the time included regions under the control of Ottoman regencies or Barbary states). Among the place names that appear along the African coast, Alexandrie (Alexandria in Egypt) stands out in the lower right corner, a key hub for maritime trade. The map is characterized by the typical dense network of directional lines—the so-called loxodromic lines—that radiate from various centers (the “points of the compass”), allowing the navigator to plot the optimal course while maintaining a constant angle relative to magnetic north.

Eighteenth-century nautical charts, derived from the tradition of medieval portolans, have distinctive technical features:

Practical Purpose: Unlike terrestrial maps, the primary objective was navigation at sea. The coastline is depicted with extreme precision, particularly with regard to ports, roadsteads, and headlands, which are essential for safe navigation.

Lack of detail: Inland areas are often left blank or shown with little detail, as they were irrelevant to the sailor observing the world from a ship’s deck.
Compass rose and loxodromes: The web of lines crisscrossing the sea is not purely decorative but serves to indicate the direction to follow between two points, facilitating compass navigation.
Graphic scales: In the lower left corner are distance scales (leagues of France, England, Holland, Spain, and Italy), which are essential for calculating distances based on the various units of measurement used by European navies.

The Recueil des principaux plans des ports, et rades de la mer Méditerranée, from which this map is derived, represents the pinnacle of Roux’s work. First published in Marseille in 1764, this atlas enjoyed extraordinary success, being reprinted and adapted for decades in various editions (such as the well-known Livorno edition). In an era marked by intense trade routes and geopolitical tensions in the Mediterranean, Roux’s work offered a systematic mapping of ports, becoming a “must-have” not only for merchants but also for the French and British navies.

Joseph Roux was a central figure in 18th-century hydrography. A member of a renowned Marseille dynasty of cartographers and marine painters, he held the position of Hydrographe du Roy (Royal Hydrographer). His location in Marseille, a key port in the Mediterranean, afforded him privileged access to up-to-date nautical information and the most recent surveys. In addition to cartography, the Roux family later distinguished itself through the creation of meticulous ship portraits, documenting the evolution of naval architecture between the 18th and 19th centuries.

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[Malta] The Maltese Islands

Ruggiero Fontanella — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 14:30:44 +0000

A pictorial map drawn by the artist Aldo Cigheri, showing the islands of Malta, Gozo, and Comino in a lively and narrative composition that also includes historical and folkloric annotations. The style is typical of “pictorial maps,” with geographical outlines enhanced by vignettes, small drawings placed next to the main place names to evoke monuments, customs, figures, or local products—for example, next to Valletta appear the city skyline or emblematic buildings, while near Mdina one can glimpse historical ruins or medieval figures.

In the lower left, an insert opens with the topographical plan of Valletta, accompanied by a numbered sequence of points of interest (palaces, gates, monuments). The view of the port of Valletta, represented from the sea towards the coast, dominates the lower part. The surrounding sea is populated by many illustrations: traditional sailing ships, fishing boats, small figures of bathers or fishermen, and also stylized fish swimming between the sea routes. These elements not only decorate the empty space of the water but also create a lively atmosphere, underlining the Mediterranean identity of the archipelago. The narrative “encyclopedic” aspect also includes scenes of naval conflicts that occurred in 1941, a crucial year in the battle for control of Malta, characterized by failed Italian maritime attack attempts and increasing aerial pressure from the Axis, countered by vigorous British defense actions that considered Malta a fundamental strategic base in the Mediterranean.

The map is framed by a rich ornamental border, embellished with ornamental motifs—flowers, leaves, fruits—typical of Central European and Art Deco taste. At the vertices of this frame appear heraldic coats of arms: crosses, noble shields, or historical symbols linked to the various periods of Maltese history, such as the epic of the Order of Malta. Published in Genoa in 1959 as a leaflet to promote tourism in Malta.

Aldo Cigheri (1909-1995) was an artist from Genoa, graduated in painting from the Ligustica Academy of Fine Arts. He worked as an advertising illustrator and distinguished himself for his decorative and lithographic cartography for Italian tourism in the second half of the twentieth century. Among his geo-pictorial works are “Lake Maggiore and pre-Alpine lakes” (1950), “Palermo and its tourist area” (1950), and “Ragusa and its province” (1956). He is also known for a gastronomic map of the province of Genoa created between the late 1950s and early 1960s, which illustrates local food and wine tourism.

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Creta Iouis magni medio iacet insula ponto; Corsica; Sardinia; Insulae Maris Ionii

Ruggiero Fontanella — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 10:26:22 +0000

Fine and early historical map of Crete surrounded by smaller maps of Corsica, Sardinia and islands in the Ionian Sea (Corfu, St. Maura, Ithaca, Cephalonia and Zante). From the 1624 final edition by Balthasar Moretus of the first historical atlas ever published. Ortelius’s Parergon began as a companion to his Theatrum but eventually it became an independent work. In fact, this collection of maps of the ancient world was so significant that it became the model for all historical atlases published throughout the seventeenth century. “The maps and plates in the Parergon have to be evaluated as the most outstanding engravings depicting the wide-spread interest in classical geography in the 16th century” (Koeman). Unlike the Theatrum, which consisted of existing maps reengraved by Ortelius, the maps in the Parergon were drawn by Ortelius himself. As a scholar of antiquity, a dealer in antiques, and a visitor to ancient sites, he was well prepared to execute the maps and all the maps from the Parergon reflect his passion for the ancient world.

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Cyprus [ΚΥΠΡΟΣ]

Ruggiero Fontanella — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 15:22:19 +0000

A beautiful pictorial map of Cyprus by the Greek artist Spyros Vassiliou and published in Athens in February 1965 by the Government Press and Information Office. The map depicts famous mythological places and describes historical events through refined vignettes. On the lower right, a cartouche in classical style shows the population density divided by Turks and Greeks, while a second insert on the upper left highlights Cyprus’s position in the world. At the bottom, a drape contains Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s invitation to the peoples of the world to find a solution to the long-standing dispute over the island of Cyprus. The card was printed in two different sizes, in both Greek and English, and was available exclusively by order from Greek embassies. Of the two sizes this is the larger.
Cfr. National Library of Australia G7451.A5 – Sylvia Ioannou Foundation M.0216

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[Greece] Die Insel Candia oder Creta…

Ruggiero Fontanella — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 07:51:30 +0000

Detailed map of Crete published in 1866 by Dietrich Reimer and based on the representation of the island drawn by the English hydrographer, geologist and vice-admiral Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt (1881-1888). The interesting map also features an inset with the valley of Mylopotamos, a locality in the northern part of the island, in the prefecture of Rethymnon. It will be reprinted in 1897 (Cf. Bibliothèque nationale de France, GED-2736 ) with the addition in plate and red colour of references (battles, place names, ports) to the Greek-Turkish War, the armed conflict fought in 1897 between the Kingdom of Greece and the Ottoman Empire.

Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt (1811-1888) è stato un ufficiale della Royal Navy inglese, idrografo e geologo attivo per tutto il XIX secolo noto per le sue esplorazioni e le sue importanti scoperte nel Mar Egeo e nel Mediterraneo orientale. Spratt, figlio maggiore del comandante della Royal Navy James Sprat, eroe della battaglia di Trafalgar si arruolò nella Royal Navy nel 1827 e fu istruito come topografo a bordo della HMS Victory. Spratt fu assegnato al rilevamento del Mediterraneo e lavorò con vari ufficiali, ma soprattutto con Thomas Graves, con il quale realizzò una mappa rivoluzionaria della Troade, il nome storico della penisola di Biga in Turchia, successivamente nota come “mappa di Spratt”, che portò direttamente alla scoperta di Troia da parte di Schliemann. Una delle sue opere più famose è “Travels and Researches in Crete” pubblicato nel 1865, che descrive le sue scoperte e avventure durante le esplorazioni a Creta.

Dietrich Reimer (1818-1899) figlio di Georg Andreas Reimer e fratello di Georg Ernst Reimer, aprì nel 1845 un negozio di libri e mappe a Berlino. Due anni dopo rilevò dal padre la maggior parte delle opere geografiche e fondò la Dietrich Reimer Verlag. Nello stesso anno sposò Henriette Hirzel, sorella dell’editore Salomon Hirzel. Dal matrimonio nacquero Heinrich Georg Reimer e altri due figli. Nel 1851 Dietrich Reimer rilevò anche l’istituto geografico e topografico di A. von Meyer a Berlino e nel 1852 riuscì ad assumere l’abile cartografo Heinrich Kiepert. Nel 1868, Reimer rese socio della sua azienda il libraio Hermann August Hoefer con il quale si dedicò con grande impegno ed eccellenti risultati al miglioramento delle opere cartografiche esistenti, a nuove grandi imprese scientifiche nel campo della geografia e alla produzione di globi terrestri e celesti, grazie ai quali la casa editrice ottenne un’alta reputazione anche a livello internazionale. Il 1° ottobre 1891 Dietrich Reimer dovette abbandonare la direzione della casa editrice per motivi di salute. Morì otto anni dopo all’età di 81 anni.

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Encyclopedic Map of Greece by “Hellenic Pictorial Cartography” of Varvatis Bros

Ruggiero Fontanella — Fri, 21 May 2021 08:19:25 +0000

Stupenda e dettagliatissima mappa pittorica della Grecia scritta sia in inglese che in greco pubblicata dalla casa editrice greco-americana dei fratelli Varvatis che iniziò l’attività editoriale a New York nel 1930. La mappa è ricca di deliziose vignette e illustrazioni relative alla storia, alla cultura e all’attività economica della Grecia dall’antichità alla data di pubblicazione nei primi anni ’60. Il disegno del cartiglio per il titolo incorpora una bandiera greca e una bandiera dell’Epiro settentrionale e i ritratti del re Paolo I e della regina Federica di Hannover con lo stemma reale: il cartiglio fornisce anche la legenda per identificare nella mappa le linee ferroviarie, strade, montagne, laghi, sorgenti minerali, città e capitali, monasteri, siti archeologici, nonché prodotti agricoli e attività economiche: cotone, seta, piantagioni di tabacco, olio d’oliva, agrumi, frutta, metalli, pesca, ecc… Infine personaggi celebri dell’antichità greca come Platone, Aristotele, Omero, Aristofane, Pericle e altri filosofi, autori e guerrieri completano e incorniciano il cartiglio. Numerose altre importanti figure religiose, laiche e culturali sono raffigurate anche in tutta la mappa, molte con le loro date di nascita e morte. Non mancano di essere rappresentate le famose leggende greche e gli eventi storici come il Colosso di Rodi e la storia di Icaro e Dedalo o, nel mare, le illustrazioni delle tante e diverse danze popolari.
In basso a sinistra un inserto con la mappa di Cipro.
Il confine settentrionale dell’Epiro con un’area dell’Albania di forte influenza greca e che al tempo era un territorio conteso tra i due paesi, è contrassegnato da una fila di bandiere dell’Epiro settentrionale e illustrazioni di battaglia così come anche lungo il confine con la ex-Jugoslavia. Sono rappresentate anche anche antiche battaglie come quella di Alessandro Magno contro i Persiani in Turchia e quella che mostra Achille che cavalca un carro, lasciandosi alle spalle il vinto Ettore. Nelle vicinanze si trova la vignetta della città fortificata di Troia e il famoso cavallo.
Questa mappa sembra essere stata prodotta pensando agli orgogliosi greco-americani infatti oltre a celebrare la grande nazione del mediterraneo la carta ricorda, sotto la leggenda, tre recenti presidenti americani: Roosevelt, Truman ed Eisenhower, e circa al centro della rappresentazione, vicino alla Macedonia c’è un ritratto dell’allora presidente con la dedica: “Questo è dedicato a un grande Filo-Ellenico, l’onorevole John F. Kennedy, presidente degli Stati Uniti d’America “.
Prima edizione di questa bella e interessantissima mappa geo-pittorica datata 1962 in basso destra. Una seconda edizione è stata pubblicata nel 1970.

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[Grecia] Rodi. Rhodes. Rhodos

Ruggiero Fontanella — Sun, 28 Mar 2021 16:12:47 +0000

Pictorial map of Rhodes, the island of the sun or rose island in Greece by Egon Huber. Published by Ente Nazionale del Turismo Italiano in Milan at Pizzi & Pizzi, 1935. Shows roads, woods, forts, lighthouses, people in various recreational activities, etc. Also shows buildings, landmarks, ships and boats in white over blue sea.

On verso 14 photos of Rodi as well as rich information about Rodi island. The list of the photos: “La citta murala vista dai bastioni” “La Venere di Rodi , uno dei capolavori del Museo archeologico” “Il mercato dei tappeti nel quartiere turco” “La caccia del cervo sul Monte del Profeta” “Il Grande Albergo delle Rose e la spiaggia” “Il Foro Italico , centro della nuova Rodi Italiana” “Motivo architettonico del nuovo mercato” “Il Palazzetto dell’ Armeria , sede dell’ Istituto Storico Archeologico “FERT” “La Porta di San Giovanni , bell’ esempio di architettura cavalleresca” “Il moderno stabilimento delle celebri , antiche terme di Calitea” “Le campane di Patmo , I’Isola di San Giovanni” “Comunicazioni maritime ed aeree con Rodi” And two pictures of Rhodes harbour!
The rich information on the back side of the map is about: “RODI: L’isola delle Rose” “La Citta Murata” “La Citta Moderna” “La Terme Di Calitea” “La Pomona Dell’ Egeo” “Caccia e Sport” “Le Escursioni” “Le Isole Minori”.

The Italian Islands of the Aegean were a group of twelve major islands (the Dodecanese) in the southeastern Aegean Sea, that — together with the surrounding islets — were ruled by the Kingdom of Italy from 1912 to 1943 and the Italian Social Republic (under German occupation) from 1943 to 1945. When the Kingdom of Italy was restored, they remained under formal Italian possession (under British occupation) until they were ceded to Greece in 1947.

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Corcyra. Corfu

admin@IDRMPS — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 18:40:43 +0000

Fine view of Corfu with the port and citadel. At the bottom, descriptive panel with text in Latin and German. Rare first edition with the privilege and signature of Leopold, published in Augsburg in 1725.
The work shows the fortified city with its imposing Venetian walls, twin fortresses, and harbor bustling with sailing ships, reflecting the commercial and military fervor of the time.
The typical Baroque style, with its use of scenic perspectives, cherubs, and decorative cartouches, gives the print a celebratory and almost theatrical tone. The meticulous detail of the buildings, ships, and surrounding landscape makes this engraving a valuable historical testimony to urban planning and life in the eastern Mediterranean under Venetian influence.
The winged figures holding cartouches and coats of arms, the chiaroscuro effects, and the theatrical perspective are typical elements of Leopold’s Baroque production, which combined topographical rigor with artistic sensitivity. Under Venetian rule (1386–1797), Corfu became a key bulwark for the defense of the Adriatic and a cultural bridge between Italy and the Greek world. The fortifications, designed by famous Venetian engineers, withstood numerous Ottoman sieges, consolidating the island’s reputation as “the key to the Levant.”

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Regno di Negroponte

admin@IDRMPS — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 18:37:08 +0000

Magnificent map of Euboea in the eastern Greece embellished by prospect view of Chalkis. The very fine map is engraved in a drape, being held aloft by a putto to reveal a view of the city of Chalkis, showing the straits with the castle. In the foreground a large Lion of Venice. All around a decorative floral baroque border. From Coronelli’s Corso Geografico Universale published in Venice in 1690.
Vincenzo Maria Coronelli is widely recognised as one of Italy’s most famous and greatest cartographers. He received an ecclesiastical education at the convent of the Minor Conventuals and also studied theology in Rome. However, his interests in geography and cartography were awoken early in his ecclesiastical career and never suppressed. He made very famous globes (including an impressive very large-scale pair for Louis XIV) and some of the most interesting and decorative atlases of all 17th century like Atlante Veneto, Isolario, Corso Geografico Universale, Libro dei Globi and also some pocket books about towns and islands. These important works are all finely engraved in his unique style with a high quantity of toponymic and historical information. In 1680 Coronelli also founded the oldest surviving geographical society “The Argonauts Academy”.

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Antica e Moderna Citta d’Atene dedicata dal P. Coronelli

admin@IDRMPS — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 18:37:08 +0000

Very decorative prospect view of Athens showing the major buildings and places of interest. From Corso Geografico Universale by Coronelli published in Venice in 1690. Vincenzo Maria Coronelli is widely recognised as one of Italy’s most famous and greatest cartographers. He received an ecclesiastical education at the convent of the Minor Conventuals and also studied theology in Rome. However, his interests in geography and cartography were awoken early in his ecclesiastical career and never suppressed. He made very famous globes (including an impressive very large-scale pair for Louis XIV) and some of the most interesting and decorative atlases of all 17th century like Atlante Veneto, Isolario, Corso Geografico Universale, Libro dei Globi and also some pocket books about towns and islands. These important works are all finely engraved in his unique style with a high quantity of toponymic and historical information. In 1680 Coronelli also founded the oldest surviving geographical society “The Argonauts Academy”.

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