Portolan Chart, 1508

Portolan Chart, 1508

Borgiano VIII

This portolan chart of the Mediterranean, drawn in 1508 by Andrea Benincacsa, is illustrated on a complete piece of parchment. Benincasa, the son of prolific map maker Grazioso Benincasa, was both a chart maker and public servant at the turn of the 15th Century in Ancona, Italy. In the city, he was in charge of harbor fortifications for a number of years, though he continued to make charts as a part-time occupation.

Portolan charts were a form of nautical maps utilized in the medieval Mediterranean Sea. This emphasis on navigation is evidenced by the highly detailed depiction of the coastline, including both harbors and hazards to ships. Though it is likely that portolan charts were used on board vessels, this map is among a contingent of high-quality works that were meant for display by merchants, captains, and other individuals interested in or tied to the maritime world in the Mediterranean.

Upon first glance, the Rhumb lines that form a dense array across the parchment signal the navigational utility of the chart. The patterning represents wind lines which extend from illustrated wind roses at various points. These lines are drawn with alternating colors, with black ink representing the four cardinal winds and red ink representing the quarter winds. These wind lines aided in the execution and planning of maritime journeys as sailors plotted routes along known winds to reach the final destination efficiently.

Though this map centers the Mediterranean Sea, it also includes Northern Africa, the British Isles in the Eastern Atlantic, the Black Sea, the Levant, and Northern Europe. Given that this map is meant for maritime use, coastal cities and ports are the main focus of the chart. Finely written place-names run perpendicularly along the detailed coast lines in both red and black ink. Red ink is utilized to denote cities and ports of importance. Through the writing of these place-names, the reader can see the expansive knowledge of the greater Mediterranean held by chart makers and navigators as well as the region's interconnectedness through sea travel. In addition to place-names, flags and city vignettes are used to denote places of importance and political possession. The city-scapes range in size, thus giving emphasis to locations such as Genoa, Babylon, and Venice, while cities such as Rome and Jerusalem are smaller in stature. It is important to note that Benincasa has included a vignette of Acona on the map. While this depiction is uncommon for portolan charts, it is an intentional move by the cartographer to confer importance upon his home city in relation to the larger Mediterranean.

While this map centers on maritime travel, it includes significant inland detail. The most pronounced includes a number of mountain ranges. These depictions appear in every geographic region of the map, the most prominent being the Atlas Mountains which span horizontally across Northern Africa and form a three-pronged shape on the eastern end of the range. Upon closer examination of these mountain ranges, Benincasa has depicted them as sets of tan hills dotted with small trees. In places, there are small buildings protruding from the hillsides. Interestingly, on Mt. Sinai, which sits slightly south of Jerusalem, Benincasa has drawn St. Catherine's Monastery on its summit. Additionally, there are a few human and animal figures on the chart. In Northern Africa, there are two large and regally dressed rulers, with the easterly one being the Sultan of Babylon. In the northeastern corner of the map, there is another finely dressed ruler under a canopy. Next to the Red Sea, which is aptly shaded red, there is a large elephant with a structure on its back. In sum, these details not only depict a map concerned with coastal locations and travel across the larger Mediterranean, but also with the inland topography and its inhabitants, thus giving the reader a considerably more contextual understanding of the region. (Jesse Cogan, 2027)

Andrea Benincasa

Benincasa, Andrea. Portolan Chart; Borgiano VIII. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1508.

Sheet Map

Seekarte des Andrea Benincasa (Borgiano VIII). Ancona, Italy, 1508. Facsimile with introduction and commentaries by Arthur Dürst. Vatican City : Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1984.

1508

Manuscript

Special Collections, Carleton College, Northfield, MN

Latin

Regional Map

The Mediterranean

The Mediterranean and Mediterranean Sea, Northern Africa, The Levant, Black Sea, Northern Europe, Eastern Atlantic Ocean

Campbell, Tony. “Portolan Charts from the Late Thirteenth Century to 1500.” In The History of Cartography, vol. 1, part 3, Cartography in Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, ed. J.B. Harley and David Woodward. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Astengo, Corradino. “The Renaissance Chart Tradition in the Mediterranean.” in The History of Cartography, vol. 3, part 1,  Cartography in the European Renaissance, ed. David Woodward. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.

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