Turin World Map

Turin World Map

Amerigo Vespucci was a merchant, seafarer, navigator, and one of the most important explorers to have ever lived. He explored the distant regions of the east coast of South America during his voyages. The dual continents of America owe their name to him. The map at hand is a planisphere from Turin, which was made in 1523 according to the great explorer’s findings. The masterpiece is recorded in seven different colors and boasts precious gold leaf ornamentation.

What is a Planisphere?

The central projection of the celestial sphere on a single plane is called a planisphere, so it is actually a star map. The Greek astronomer Hipparchus of Nicaea discovered that a conformal mapping of the heavens was possible with stereographic projection, which would, however, exhibit ever great spatial errors with increasing distance from the pole. Consequently, an idea of a planisphere already existed in antiquity. The correct construction of a planisphere was described in a work by Ptolemy. In the Middle Ages, however, also world maps were designated with this title, which did not record any constellations, but represented the geography of the globe two-dimensionally.

Precious Materials

The Geocarta Nautica Universale was manufactured in Turin by Giovanni Vespucci – Amerigo’s nephew – and his colleague Juan Diaz de Solis. Both artists strictly adhered to Amerigo’s notes in their preparation of the masterpiece. They used parchment and painted the various regions of the Earth, bodies of water and mountain ranges in distinctly high-quality colors. When closed, the map takes the form of a scroll. Its precious gold leaf adornment lends the work an especially noble touch. The planisphere is a uniquely magnificent masterpiece of Renaissance cartography.