The Sea Map of Andrea Benincasa

Ancona (Italy), 1508

Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City
Borgiano VIII

Date of Publication of the Facsimile: 1984
Publisher: Belser Verlag, Zurich (Switzerland)
Reproduction: Belser Studio, Vatican City with Chromograph DC300 Laser-Scanner, and color monitor produced by the Fa. Hell-Siemens, Kiel (Germany)
Lithography: Graphisches Atelier Gerd Preiss, Gerlingen (Germany)
Composition and Printing: Frank W Wesel, Baden-Baden (Germany)
Paper: Faserprodukte GmbH, Lahnstein/EPA, Karlsruhe (Germany)
Gilded Decoration: Heinz Deuschle, Göppingen (Germany)

This Portolan chart (that is, a coastal map intended for mariners) gives a good representation of the Mediterranean region, but would be of limited use for navigating around the British Isles. Note the unrealistic coloring of the Red Sea -- traditional in medieval maps

The facsimile replicates the general shape and texture of the original parchment (that is, the specially treated animal skin) on which the map was drawn.

Red Sea (80K)

Northern Italy (88K)

British Isles (72K)

Spain (96K)

Greece (112K)

Northern Africa (88K)

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