Friday, August 28, 2020

Unusual maps

One of the benefits of the 'lock down' is the opportunity to read. I have been enjoying Italo Calvino's "Collection of Sand". It is a collection of essays some of which are reflections on exhibitions that he saw in Paris. One such exhibition of maps contained works by Opicinus de Canistris (24 December 1296 - c. 1353), an Italian priest, cartographer and writer. He produced a range of works that featured maps overlaid and integrated with human figures and biographical details. 
Here are some of the images.







Calvino also mentions 'Peutinger's Table' a medieval map that is a copy of a Roman map that contains the entire road system of the Empire. The Mediterranean is a thin horizontal strip


Sometimes meanderings on the web are incredibly rewarding.