Corbitis Atlas
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The Corbitis Atlas (sometimes called the Corbizzi or Combitis) is a late 14th-century atlas of four
portolan chart Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian language, Italian ''portolano'', meaning " ...
s, composed by an anonymous Venetian cartographer, and held by the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, Italy.


Background

The atlas was made by an anonymous Venetian cartographer, possibly by the same author of the
Pinelli–Walckenaer Atlas The Pinelli–Walckenaer Atlas is a late 14th-century atlas of portolan charts, explicitly dated 1384, primarily composed by an anonymous Venetian cartographer, and held by the British Library. Background 250px, Third sheet of the Pinelli-Walck ...
. The Corbitis atlas was once believed to be dated 1368 (on account of a misreading of the label ''y(sole) 368'' on the fifth folio). More recent readings suggest it was made between 1384 and 1410, with possible later emendations. The map has the simple inscription "''hec tabula ex testamento d mij nicholaj de co itis deuenit monast ri cart usianoflore tino'",Atlante Corbizzi presentation, at GeoWeb, Biblioteca Marciana, Venic
online
/ref> implying the Corbitis atlas must have belonged to a certain Corbizzi family of Florence in the 14th century, and was held by the monastery of Certosa del Galluzzo. The inscription was previously misread as "Combitis", a name by which the atlas is sometimes referred to in older sources. The Corbitis Atlas is currently held (Ms. It. VI 213) by the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, Italy.


Features

The Corbitis atlas is composed of four
portolan chart Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian language, Italian ''portolano'', meaning " ...
s, each measuring 31 × 19 cm, with each chart covering two folios: * P. 1 – covers the east Mediterranean and Black Sea. * P. 2 – covers the central Mediterranean * P. 3 – covers the west Mediterranean and the north Atlantic coast up to the British isles. * P. 4 – covers the south Atlantic islands and west African coast. The third sheet (North Atlantic) includes the mythical islands of ''y.fortunate'', ''y beate'', ''y.368'' and the ''montagna de sco brandan'' ( Saint Brendan's Island). The fourth sheet (South Atlantic) covers the west African coast down to (
Cape Bojador Cape Bojador (, Arabic transliteration, trans. ''Rā's Būjādūr''; , ''Bujdur''; Spanish language, Spanish and ; ) is a headland on the west coast of Western Sahara, at 26° 07' 37"N, 14° 29' 57"W (various sources give various locations: this ...
) and several
Atlantic islands This is a list of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the largest of which is Greenland. Note that the definition of the ocean used by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) excludes the seas, gulfs, bays, etc., bordering the ocean itself. ...
, using the same labels found already in earlier charts (e.g. the 1351
Medici Atlas The Medici-Laurentian Atlas, also known simply as the Medici Atlas (and other variants, e.g. "Laurenziano Gaddiano", "Laurentian Portolano", "Atlante Mediceo" or "Laurentian Atlas"), is an anonymous 14th-century set of maps, probably composed by a ...
, the 1367
Pizzigani brothers Domenico and Francesco Pizzigano, known as the Pizzigani brothers, were 14th-century Republic of Venice, Venetian cartographers. Their surname is sometimes given as Pizigano (only one 'z') in older sources. 1367 chart ] The Pizzigani brothers ...
chart, etc.). As laid out in the Corbitis atlas, the islands are: * the
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
, laid out vertically from north to south, and named: ( Corvo), ''liconigi'' (
Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...
), ''sco zorzi'' ( São Jorge), ''y la uentura'' ( Faial), ''li colonbi'' (
Pico Pico may refer to: Places The Moon * Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin Portugal * Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde * Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribe ...
), ''y de brazil'' (
Terceira Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...
), ''caprara'' ( São Miguel) and ( Santa Maria). * the
Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
archipelago, with the names ''y de legname'' (
Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
), ''porto santo'' (
Porto Santo Porto Santo Island () is a Portuguese island and municipality northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe an ...
), ''desertas'' (
Desertas The Desertas Islands (, , "Deserted Islands") are a small archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the larger Portuguese Madeira Archipelago. The archipelago is located off the coast of Morocco. Deserta Grande Island is located about southea ...
) and further south, (
Savage Islands The Savage Islands or Selvagens Islands ( ; also known as the Salvage Islands) are a small Portugal, Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Madeira and north of the Canary Islands.30,000), white-faced storm-petrel (>80,0 ...
). * the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, only the central and eastern clusters are depicted, and include ''y de rinferno'' (
Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
), ''y de canaria'' (
Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...
), ''y de uegi marini'' (
Lobos Lobos is the headquarters city of the Lobos Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded on 2 June 1802 by José Salgado. Background Located from Buenos Aires, Lobos is a fertile agricultural area known mainly because of the d ...
), ''forte uentura'' (
Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, geographically part of Macaronesia, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the coast of North Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO i ...
), ''Grazioxa'' (
Graciosa Graciosa Island () (literally "graceful" or "enchanting" in Portuguese), also referred to as the ''White Island'', is a volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the northernmost of the Central Group of islands in the Azores archipelago. The o ...
) and ''y de lanzaroto maloxeli'' (
Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 163,230 inhabi ...
). Image:Corbitis Atlas (p.1).jpg, Corbitis Atlas, p. 1 (East Mediterranean and Black Sea) Image:Corbitis Atlas (p. 2).jpg, Corbitis Atlas, p. 2 (Central Mediterranean) Image:Corbitis Atlas (p.3).jpg, Corbitis Atlas, p. 3 (West Mediterranean and north Atlantic) Image:Corbitis Atlas (p.4).jpg, Corbitis Atlas, p. 4 (South Atlantic and islands)


References

{{Reflist


Sources

* "l'atlante Corbitis"
note
an
exhibition
at GeoWeb, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana of Venice. * Campbell, T. (2011) "Anonymous works and the question of their attribution to individual chartmakers or to their supposed workshops",

accessed July 14, 2011) Atlases Historic maps of Europe