The Carta Pisana is a map made at the end of the 13th century, about 1275-1300. It shows the whole Mediterranean and a part of the atlantic coast, from the north of present-day Morocco to present-day Holland[1]. It is the oldest surviving nautical chart (that is, not simply a map but a document showing accurate navigational directions)[2][1], and also the oldest medieval map known[3]. Its author is anonymous, but it was nearly certainly made in Genoa[3]. It is a portolan chart[2], showing a detailed survey of the coasts, and many ports, but bears no indication on the topography or toponymy of the inland[3].
Detailed content
editThe density of the ports referenced on the map is the highest for the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the lowest for that of the Ionian Sea. This is further evidence that the map is of genoese origin, since [[Genoa], at this time, were a major power in the Tyrrhenian Sea[3]. As to the date of the map, it is partly indicated by the mention of the town of Manfredonia, which was founded by king Manfred of Sicily in 1256[3].
It is accompanied by a chart showing sixteen wind directions
Relation to the Compass
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Diffie, Bailey Wallys (1977). Foundations of the Portuguese empire, 1415-1580. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. ISBN 9780816607822.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Aczel, Amir D. (2001). The riddle of the compass: the invention that changed the world. Orlando: Harcourt Books. ISBN 9780156007535.
- ^ a b c d e Brancaccio, Giovanni (1991). Geografia, cartografia e storia del Mezzogiorno. Napoli: Guida editori Napoli. ISBN 9788878351219.