Catalan map
Title
Catalan map
Alternative Title
Estense map
Description
This is a circular map (dia. 113 cm.)from 1450 incorporating elements form mappaemundi and portolan charts. It depicts Europe, Asia, and Africa. The map has windrose (rhumb) lines and coastal cities labeled perpendicular to the coast like a portolan chart.
In Europe various regions have flags depicting ownership, while in Africa and Asia large depictions of seated figures in tents show the local rulers. The Indian Ocean is open, unlike in from Ptolemy's description. In it, there are large numbers of circular red and blue islands, a ship, and several mermaids.
The Mediterranean region is almost completely a portolan chart with Sicily and several other islands having detailed coasts and internal cities. The ocean clearly goes all the way around Europe, Africa and Asia. Throughout the map, cities are portrayed as a collection of towers sometimes with mosques depending on the region. Mountain ranges are depicted in green, and the Atlas mountains are very prominent on the map. Africa gets very narrow below West Africa before widening out into a crescent shape that is almost entirely unlabeled. (Oscar Smith '20)
In Europe various regions have flags depicting ownership, while in Africa and Asia large depictions of seated figures in tents show the local rulers. The Indian Ocean is open, unlike in from Ptolemy's description. In it, there are large numbers of circular red and blue islands, a ship, and several mermaids.
The Mediterranean region is almost completely a portolan chart with Sicily and several other islands having detailed coasts and internal cities. The ocean clearly goes all the way around Europe, Africa and Asia. Throughout the map, cities are portrayed as a collection of towers sometimes with mosques depending on the region. Mountain ranges are depicted in green, and the Atlas mountains are very prominent on the map. Africa gets very narrow below West Africa before widening out into a crescent shape that is almost entirely unlabeled. (Oscar Smith '20)
Creator
Unknown
Source
Modena, Biblioteca Estense. MS C.G.A. 1.
Format
Single map
Publisher
Mapamundi catalán, ca. 1450, ed.
Ernesto Milano and Annalisa Battini. Barcelona: M. Moleiro 1996.
Ernesto Milano and Annalisa Battini. Barcelona: M. Moleiro 1996.
Date
1450-1460
Medium
manuscript
Contributor
Special Collections, Carleton College, Northfield, MN
smitho
Language
Catalan
Type
World map
Spatial Coverage
Europe, Africa, Asia
References
Edson, Evelyn. The World Map 1300-1492: The Persistence of Tradition and Transformation. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
Rights
Rights for maps held by individual publishers and institutions. Thumbnails displayed constitute fair use.
Rights for maps held by individual publishers and institutions. Thumbnails displayed constitute fair use.
Citation
Unknown, “Catalan map,” Mapping the World, accessed April 24, 2026, https://hist231.hist.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/11.