Livorno Daily Photo: Ligorni

Sunday, October 11, 2015

A detail of a portolan chart of the Mediterranean Sea dated around 1500-1600. You can find Livorno (here spelled Ligorni) and slightly on the south you can see a small village called Vada, which happens to be my birthplace. The link to the original chart is on the website of the Biblioteca Nacional de España (National Library of Spain).

External links: Portolan chart - Biblioteca Nacional de España - Marcus Antonius Coccius Sabellicus (Wikipedia)
- Cartas portulanas en la Biblioteca Nacional de España (Biblioteca Nacional de España)

Revrunner said...: My birthplace hadn't even been mapped between 1500-1600. :-); October 11, 2015 at 1:18 AM
Lowell said...: That is a great find wherever you found it!; October 11, 2015 at 1:24 AM
Sharon said...: I marvel at the skill of the map makers from this era with no surveying devices and no air travel.; October 11, 2015 at 5:49 PM
PerthDailyPhoto said...: Old navigational charts are fascinating VP, amazing to think early explorers made their way around the oceans without the modern day equipment.. it's possible they steered off-course a few times :); October 11, 2015 at 6:17 PM
William Kendall said...: A whole lot of ports at that time and not much inland!; October 11, 2015 at 7:50 PM
RedPat said...: What a great find! You haven't moved too far from your birthplace!; October 12, 2015 at 3:03 AM
Jack said...: Fascinating. I had never heard of a Portolan Chart before. Isn't it interesting the things we learn by reading blogs?

My birthplace is where, in the 1690s, some bored teenage girls started accusing older people of being witches. Before the craziness was over, 20 people were executed.; October 12, 2015 at 3:55 AM
Dina said...: Useful things can also be very beautiful.; October 12, 2015 at 11:51 AM
EG CameraGirl said...: I'm very fond of looking at maps. This one seems very detaiied for its time!; October 13, 2015 at 9:15 PM