Descrittione dell'isola di Minorica

Early map of Menorca, from Porcacci’s “L’Isole Piu Famose del Mondo” based on maps from the “Lafreri School”.

Cartographically, this map is based on one of a series of maps of islands in the western Mediterranean produced by Fernando Bertelli in the first half of the 1560s. Another imprint of the map on the same model was produced by Claudio Duchetti 1570 while Porcacci’s map was first issued in his work in 1572.

Porcacci’s map differs in some respects from the earlier Bertelli map with a much finer engraving technique and an unusually large number of monsters in the seas around the island. Again, as in the map of Mallorca, he adds a wind rose to the map with the letter “T” for the northern wind Tramontana pointing to the left of the page, differentiating it from the Bertelli map which shows Tramontana or the north on the top of the page.

Porcacci’s work, also known as the “Isolario”, was first issued in 1572 and remained popular throughout the late 16th and seventeenth centuries, with editions up to 1686 and possibly later. There is no change in the maps but there are changes in the decorative horizontal band on the top of the page which helps date specific editions.

The example offered for sale on this occasion is the 1620 edition. Italian text on reverse. (Image available on request). [MED2315]