Mappa Mundi by Fra Mauro

Mappa Mundi by Fra Mauro

This world map from ca. 1450 by the Italian monk, accountant, and cartographer Fra Mauro (d. 1464) is “considered to be the greatest memorial of medieval cartography”. With the impressive dimensions of 2.4 x 2.4 meters, it is also the largest surviving medieval European map, which is drawn on parchment and mounted in a gilded wooden frame. The circular planisphere was the most detailed and accurate depiction of the world yet created, marking the transition from biblically-based geography to more scientific methods. It is also one of the first European maps to depict Japan. As such, NASA, when comparing the map to satellite images, has described it as “stunning” in its accuracy. The map was an expensive project which took years to create on the island of Murano near Venice and two editions were made by Fra Mauro’s workshop for the great maritime powers of Venice and Portugal.

An Unusual Mappa Mundi

A mappa mundi is a medieval European map which conceptualizes the world based upon the Christian worldview. As such, Jerusalem is usually found at the center, representing its central spiritual position. Furthermore, the preeminent position of eastern civilizations like China and India in the medieval European mindset is expressed by the East-orientation of the maps, unlike modern maps, which place North at the top. Fra Mauro defied both of these traditions for his hybrid-map: Jerusalem is depicted in its geographic position and the map is South-oriented, probably because both 15th century compasses and contemporary Arab maps were as well. He made use of a range of expensive paints including blue, red, turquoise, brown, green, and black to depict the continents, which are covered with geographic features, cities, and castles. Hundreds of illustrations are then accompanied by more than 3,000 descriptions. The main map is surrounded by four smaller spheres: a Ptolemaic cosmography, a diagram of the four elements, an illustration of the Garden of Eden, and another depiction of Earth as a globe with the poles, Equator, and tropics.

Two Stately Editions

The two originals of the map went to the two leading naval powers of the time. The first was commissioned by the Signoria of Venice and was rediscovered in Murano’s monastery of St. Michael, where Fra Mauro had his studio. The other was commissioned for King Alfonso V of Portugal. It is dated precisely to April 24th, 1459. It was recorded among the treasures of the royal palace of São Jorge Castle until at least 1494, but disappeared something thereafter. Nonetheless, the surviving Venetian manuscript is one of the most-studied historical works of geography.