Select manuscript from this collection: Ms. fr. 1/1  Ms. lat. 80 Ms. lat. 84  Ms. l.e. 210  92/110

Country of Location:
Country of Location
Switzerland
Location:
Location
Genève
Library / Collection:
Library / Collection
Bibliothèque de Genève
Shelfmark:
Shelfmark
Ms. lat. 81
Manuscript Title:
Manuscript Title
Andrea Benincasa, Atlas of nautical charts
Caption:
Caption
Parchment · 10 ff. · 28.8 x 20.5 cm · Ancona or Venice · 1476
Language:
Language
Latin
Manuscript Summary:
Manuscript Summary
This portolan by Andrea Benincasa is signed and dated 1476 on the last chart, which is glued to the inside back cover. The five nautical charts, each occupying a double page of the atlas, describe the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea (chart 1), the coasts between Sicily and the Aegean Sea (chart 2), the Mediterranean Sea from Gibraltar to Rome with Corsica and Sardinia (chart 3), the coasts of the Atlantic between England and Ireland to the Strait of Gibraltar (chart 4), and finally the coasts between Gibraltar and Cape Bojador, including the Canary Islands and other islands (chart 5). The star-shaped rhumb lines with wind roses indicate the compass directions, while the scales, here marked in the corners of the leaves, make it possible to estimate distances. The precise course of the coasts highlighted with color and the elegant script of the toponyms are characteristic of maps from the Benincasa studio, which were intended as objects for book lovers, but not for navigation. Among the numerous inscriptions on these maps, those on the Atlantic islands are the most surprising, as they seem to anticipate the discovery of the American archipelago like “Antilia,” or the island of “Brazil”; these names were adopted by Christopher Columbus and his successors to name certain territories in the New World. (vag)
Standard description:
Standard description
Isabelle Jeger, Catalogue des manuscrits latins 1-376, Genève 2016, pp. 372-375.
Show standard description
DOI (Digital Object Identifier):
DOI (Digital Object Identifier
10.5076/e-codices-bge-lat0081 (http://dx.doi.org/10.5076/e-codices-bge-lat0081)
Permanent link:
Permanent link
https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/bge/lat0081
IIIF Manifest URL:
IIIF Manifest URL
IIIF Drag-n-drop https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/metadata/iiif/bge-lat0081/manifest.json
How to quote:
How to quote
Genève, Bibliothèque de Genève, Ms. lat. 81: Andrea Benincasa, Atlas of nautical charts (https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/bge/lat0081).
Online Since:
Online Since
12/12/2019
Restauration report:
Restauration report
Andrea Giovannini, 2007 (PDF)
Rights:
Rights
Images:
(Concerning all other rights see each manuscript description and our Terms of use)
Document Type:
Document Type
Manuscript
Century:
Century
15th century
Dated:
Dated
1476
Decoration:
Decoration
Figurative, Full Page, Fully Painted, Gold / Silver
Binding:
Binding
15th century
Restored:
Restored
Yes
With Restoration Report:
With Restoration Report
Yes
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Die schönsten Seiten der Schweiz. Geistliche und weltliche Handschriften / Trésors enluminés de Suisse. Manuscrits sacrés et profanes, M. Bernasconi Reusser, C. Flüeler, B. Roux (ed.), Cinisello Balsamo (Milano) 2020, 304-305, Nr. 72 (E. Vagnon).

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