The Cornaro Atlas (Egerton MS 73) is an extensive

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

collection () of nautical charts and tracts, currently held in the

Egerton Collection The Egerton Collection is a collection of historical manuscripts held in the British Library. The core of the collection comprises 67 manuscripts bequeathed to the British Museum in 1829 by Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater, along w ...

of manuscripts of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

Background

The Cornaro Atlas is an 80-page

manuscript volume, estimated to date c. 1489. It is named after the

Cornaro The House of Cornaro or Corner are a family in Venice who were patricians in the Republic of Venice and included many Doges and other high officials. The name ''Corner'', originally from the Venetian dialect, was adopted in the eighteenth cent ...

family, one of the leading patrician families of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

, who once owned the volume, and whose

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

adorns its frontispiece. The Cornaro Atlas was brought to England in 1832, and is currently held (Egerton MS 73) by the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The first half of the volume contains a large collection of nautical charts, faithful copies of

portolan chart Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian ''portulano'', meaning "related to ports or harbors", and w ...

s composed earlier in the 15th century. The second half of the volume is dedicated to a myriad of written tracts on matters of nautical interest (e.g. astronomy, sailing directions, tariffs, etc.)

Contents of the Atlas

The Cornaro atlas has around 80 pages, each page at 53 x 41 cm.

Calendars

Three of the pages are calendars: * (p. 1) – a perpetual astronomical calendar of lunar revolutions * (p. 2) – a calendar of

moveable feast A moveable feast is an observance in a Christian liturgical calendar which occurs on different dates in different years.John Ayto ''Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms'' 2010 p123 019954378X "a movable feast an event which takes place at no re ...

s from 1489 to 1600 * (p. 79) – a calendar of

Dominical letter Dominical letters or Sunday letters are a method used to determine the day of the week for particular dates. When using this method, each year is assigned a letter (or pair of letters for leap years) depending on which day of the week the year star ...

Nautical charts

Following the opening calendars, there are 38 nautical charts depicted in 35 pages (numbered p. 3 to p. 38). All the maps seem to have been copied around the same time and by the same hand. Several pages can be grouped together to form a single

covering the "normal portolan" range (Black Sea, Mediterranean and Atlantic coast up to the British isles). Most

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...

s are named, some of them notables, such as

Grazioso Benincasa The Republic of Ancona was a medieval commune and maritime republic notable for its economic development and maritime trade, particularly with the Byzantine Empire and Eastern Mediterranean, although somewhat confined by Venetian supremacy on th ...

of Ancona and Petrus Rosell of Majorca, others are lesser known. The last few charts are anonymous. Notable in this collection are the final charts on West Africa ("Portuguese Guinea") by an anonymous cartographer (often attributed to Cristoforo Soligo), which seem to be based on a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

nautical chart. It is one of the few indicators of the existence of Portuguese portolans from before the earliest extant specimens. * (3 + 4) – portolan chart of Petrus Rosell ** p. 3 – chart of east Mediterranean and Black Sea ** p. 4 – chart of west Mediterranean and Atlantic coast *(5 + 6) – portolan chart of

Giovanni de Napoli Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

(''Zuan de Napoli'') ** p. 5 – east Mediterranean and Black Sea. ** p. 6 – west Mediterranean and Atlantic coast *(7 + 8) – portolan chart of

** p. 7 – east Mediterranean and Black Sea ** p. 8 – west Mediterranean and Atlantic coast *(p. 9) – two charts on one page: ** the first is a special map of the Black Sea by Grazioso Benincasa (or F. Beccario) ** the second is a special map of the Black Sea by Francesco Beccario. * (10 + 11) – portolan chart of

Francesco Beccario Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), seve ...

** p. 10 – East Mediterranean and Black Sea ** p. 11 – West Mediterranean and Atlantic Coast. Notable here is the "''ixolla del Brazil''" (mythical

Brasil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...

) west of Ireland, followed by "''ixolla damam''" (mythical

Isle of Mam Mayda (variously known as Maida, Mayd, Mayde, Brazir, Mam, Asmaida, Asmayda, Bentusle, Las Maidas Bolunda and Vlaanderen) is a non-existent island in the North Atlantic that has been shown on several published maps at various points in history. ...

), then the usual list of

Azores ) , motto= ( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem=( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

names (''corvi marini'', etc.) * (12 + 13 + 14) – portolan chart of

Nicolò Fiorino Nicolò () is an Italian male given name. Another variation is Niccolò, most common in Tuscany. It may refer to: * Nicolò Albertini, statesman * Nicolò Amati, luthier * Nicolò Barella, Italian footballer * Nicolò Barattieri, Italian engineer ...

** p. 12 – East Mediterranean and Black Sea ** p. 13 – Central Mediterranean ** p. 14 – West Mediterranean and Atlantic coast. Notable here is a rare mythical island "''Mons Orins''" west of Ireland, as well as the usual mythical ''del brazil'' to the southwest. It also gives the customary Azores list (''deli corbi marini'', ''degli conigli'', ''de S. Zorzi'', etc. including a second ''de bracil'' (

Terceira Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately . It is the location ...

)) * (p. 15) – special map of the Adriatic Sea by

Francesco de Cesanis Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sever ...

("Cexano"). * (p. 16) – several charts on one page by Zuan Soligo, ** map of Italy, the Adriatic and the Ionian islands ** map of Sicily and Corsica * (17 + 18) – portolan chart of

Alvise de Cesanis Louis is the French form of the Old Frankish given name Chlodowig and one of two English forms, the other being Lewis (). Etymology The name Louis (through the intermediate form Clovis) derives from the Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ ( ...

("Alvise Cexano") ** p. 17 – Black Sea ** p. 18 – eastern mediterranean, including Aegean up to Morea. *(19 + 20) – special charts of

Domenico de Zane Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian archit ...

** p. 19 – chart of Mediterranean ** p. 20 – chart of the Aegean Sea * (21 + 22) – special charts of

** p. 21 – chart of the Mediterranean ** p. 22 – chart of the Aegean Sea, including Greece and Asia Minor. * (p. 23) – chart of the Aegean Sea by

Nicolò Pasqualini Nicolò () is an Italian male given name. Another variation is Niccolò, most common in Tuscany. It may refer to: * Nicolò Albertini, statesman * Nicolò Amati, luthier * Nicolò Barella, Italian footballer * Nicolò Barattieri, Italian engineer ...

* (p. 24) – chart of the Aegean Sea by

Benedetto Pesina Benedetto is a common Italian name, the equivalent of the English name Benedict. Notable people named Benedetto include: People with the given name * Benedetto Accolti (disambiguation), several people * Benedetto Aloi (1935–2011), American mob ...

, explicitly dated 1489 (the only dated map in the atlas). * (25 + 26 + 27 + 28 + 29) – portolan chart of

Alvise Cesanis Louis is the French form of the Old Frankish given name Chlodowig and one of two English forms, the other being Lewis (). Etymology The name Louis (through the intermediate form Clovis) derives from the Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ ( ...

(noted as "''compimento''" of earlier Cexano chart). ** p. 25 – central Mediterranean (from where chart on p. 18 left off) until Livorono ** p. 26 – west Mediterranean until the Balearic islands. ** p. 27 – west Mediterranean and south Atlantic coast ** p. 28 – north Atlantic coast, from Lisbon to Texel. * (p. 29) map of Atlantic coast, from northwest Africa to British isles, by an anonymous cartographer. * (p. 30) – South Atlantic chart by Cristoforo Soligo, Portugal down to

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

, and including the Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores and mythical

Antillia Antillia (or Antilia) is a phantom island that was reputed, during the 15th-century age of exploration, to lie in the Atlantic Ocean, far to the west of Portugal and Spain. The island also went by the name of Isle of Seven Cities (''Ilha das ...

. Notable for including both the "traditional" 14th-century names and the new Portuguese 15th-century names for the

islands, specifically: ** ''y de luovo'' and ''y de santa maria'' ( Santa Maria) ** ''y caprara'' and ''y de san michiel'' ( São Miguel) ** ''y del brazil'' and ''y de jhs xpo'' (

) ** ''y de san zorzi'' and ''y de san piero'' ( São Jorge) ** ''y de colonbi'' and ''y de san dinis'' (

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 Ribei ...

) ** ''y de la venture'' and ''y de salvis'' ( Faial) ** no traditional name and ''y gracioxa'' (

Graciosa Graciosa Island () (literally "graceful" or "enchanting" in Portuguese) is referred to as the ''White Island'', the northernmost of the Central Group of islands in the Azores. The ovular Portuguese island has an area of , a length of and a width ...

) ** ''y deli Conilgi'' and ''y de san tomas'' ( Flores) ** ''y di corbi marini'' and ''ya de santa ana''. ( Corvo) * (31 + 32 + part of 33) – Map of west African coast (noted as "''Ginea Portogalexe''", or

Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea ( pt, Guiné), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as G ...

) by an anonymous cartographer (often attributed to Christoforo Soligo)D'Avezac (1850:p.22); Campbell (2010). ** (p. 31) – from the Straits of Gibraltar to

Cape Vert Cap-Vert, or the Cape Verde Peninsula, is a peninsula in Senegal and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Afro-Eurasia mainland. Portuguese explorers called it Cabo Verde or "Green Cape". The Cape Verde islands, further ...

(Senegal) ** (p. 32) – from

Cape Roxo Cape Roxo ( pt, Cabo Roxo, french: Cap Roxo), is a headland in West Africa, marking the westernmost frontier of Guinea-Bissau with Senegal. On the lower side is the São Domingos district of the Cacheu Region of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, abo ...

to Cape Saint-Catherine (Gabon), depicting construction of

Elmina Castle Elmina Castle was erected by the Portuguese in 1482 as Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (''St. George of the Mine Castle''), also known as ''Castelo da Mina'' or simply ''Mina'' (or ''Feitoria da Mina''), in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly th ...

("''Qui se defiando uno altro Castello del Re de portogal''") ** (p. 33, top) – from Cape Fremoxo to Cape Negro, with all the toponyms in

. * (p. 33 bottom) – map of the Caspian Sea (''Mar de Bacu''), anonymous. * (p. 34) is a blank page. * (p. 35) two maps on one page, both anonymous ** top – map of the Black Sea ** bottom – map of the Aegean Sea * (p. 36) – General portolan chart (Mediterranean, Black Sea, Atlantic coast), possibly to serve as a "summary map" of all the prior charts. Anonymous. * (p. 37) – map of northern Germany ("Sea of Germany") and the Baltic Sea. Anonymous. * (p. 38) – a corographic map of the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Ho ...

(entitled: "''Descriptio totius Terre Sancte, quam posiderunt filii Israhel; vocatur etiam Terra Promisionis''"). Similar to the map of the Marino Sanuto atlas.

Tracts

The remaining forty pages of the Cornaro Atlas (pp. 39–78) are various tracts, lists and notes on various subjects, written in the

Venetian language Venetian, wider Venetian or Venetan ( or ) is a Romance language spoken natively in the northeast of Italy,Ethnologue mostly in the Veneto region, where most of the five million inhabitants can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and ofte ...

. * (pp. 39 to 46) are dedicated to

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

. Discusses matters such as the relation of the stars to parts of the human body, instructions on the course of the sun and moon, eclipses, timing of Easter and feast days, etc. (the content is similar to the

Catalan Atlas The Catalan Atlas ( ca, Atles català, ) is a medieval world map, or mappamundi, created in 1375 that has been described as the most important map of the Middle Ages in the Catalan language, and as "the zenith of medieval map-work". It was pr ...

of 1375 and 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 ...

of 1384) * (p. 47) is a chapter entitled ''la raxon del martologio'' relating the

rule of marteloio 300px, The ''tondo e quadro'' (circle and square) from Andrea Bianco's 1436 atlas The rule of marteloio is a medieval technique of navigational computation that uses compass direction, distance and a simple trigonometric table known as the ''tolet ...

(similar to

Andrea Bianco The Bianco World Map is a map created by ''Andrea Bianco'', a 15th-century Venetian sailor and cartographer. This map was a part of a nautical atlas including ten pages made of vellum (each measuring 26 × 38 cm). These vellum pages we ...

's 1436 atlas). * (p. 48), there is the replica of a 1428 document

captain-general

Andrea Mocenigo Andrea Mocenigo (after 1471 – 1542), son of Lunardo, was a Venetian senator of the republic and a historian and in 1495 protonotary apostolic. He composed a work on the League of Cambrai entitled ''Belli memorabilis Cameracensis adversus Venet ...

listing the captains of the Venetian galleys, followed (p. 49), by an ordered list of armed galleys of the government (''

Signoria A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...

'') of Venice, and (p. 50) a list of the captains of the Flanders galleys. * (p. 52) beginning of a new treatise on astronomy, apparently dated 1388, tracing the movement of the twelve

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The p ...

constellations, the seven planets, the moon, etc. * (p. 55) an explanation of how to measure the height of buildings. * (p. 59) a list of

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and p ...

s on merchandise in different countries, comparative to the tariffs of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

. * (p. 63) is a manual on sailing. * (p. 67 to p. 78) is a detailed

portolan Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian ''portulano'', meaning "related to ports or harbors", and w ...

handbook detailing the sailing directions and distances of the various ports of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coasts, albeit apparently left incomplete. * (p. 79) – the final calendar of

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* Entry on th
Cornaro Atlas
at COPAC, British Library * Campbell, T. (2010) "A Note on the Cornaro Atlas

including a color and attribution table. * D'Avezac, M.A.C. (1850) ''Note sur un Atlas Hydrographique manuscrit, executé à Venise dans le XVe siècle, et conservé aujourd'hui au Musée Britannique'' Paris: Martine
online
* Uzielli, G. and P. Amat di S. Filippo (1882) ''Studi biografici e bibliografici sulla storia della geografia in Italia, Vol. 2 – Mappamondi, carte nautiche, portolani ed altri monumenti cartografici specialmente italiani dei secoli XIII–XVII'', Rome: Società geografica italiana, 2nd ed.
Vol. 2
Atlases Egerton Collection 15th-century maps and globes