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This important early pair of maps, printed back to ba featured in Benedetto Bordone's Isolario, published in Venice in 1528, represents the earliest printed maps to focus on the the islands of Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera in the Balearic archipelago.
On the map at the left, Majorca is illustrated prominently, with identifiable landmarks such as Mocolomber (present-day Colònia de Sant Pere) and Porto Colobo (Porto Colom). Minorca is similarly delineated, showing its prominent ports and settlements. The map reflects the maritime importance of these islands during the Renaissance, serving as crucial points in Mediterranean navigation and trade routes.
On the verso (right), Bordone illustrates the islands of Ibiza and Formentera, with an exaggerated representation of the Catalan coast to the left. This cartographic choice emphasizes the strategic connection between these islands and the mainland. Ibiza is marked by significant locations such as Porto Petro and Sanolaría, indicating its vital harbors. Formentera is depicted below, showcasing the limited but crucial settlements. The surrounding smaller islands and prominent coastal features are identified, underlining the navigational challenges and importance of these islands. This map, like its counterpart, reflects the nautical priorities and geographical knowledge of the early 16th century.
Benedetto Bordone (1460-1531) was a polymath who was born in Padua and worked in Venice. He was an illuminator, engraver, miniaturist, editor, and geographer. It is possible he made the first globe in Italy. His most famous work is the Isolario, or Book of Islands, which included many of the earliest printed maps of islands in the New World.
Bordone, a prominent Venetian manuscript editor, miniaturist, and cartographer, was born in Padua, a city that was then part of the Republic of Venice. Although his exact date of birth remains unknown, historical records indicate that his parents married in Padua in 1442, and he himself was married in 1480. Bordone's contributions to the field of cartography, particularly through his seminal work, Isolario, have cemented his legacy as a pivotal figure in the Renaissance cartographic tradition.
Bordone's most renowned work, Isolario (The Book of Islands), printed in Venice in 1528, is a comprehensive compilation that describes all the known islands of the world. The book offers detailed accounts of each island's folklore, myths, cultures, climates, geographical situations, and historical narratives. It stands as a testament to the popularity of the isolario genre in 15th and 16th century Italy and serves as an illustrated guide for sailors, incorporating the era's latest transatlantic discoveries.
One of the notable features of Isolario is an oval depiction of the world, a map type invented by Bordone. This innovation was later formalized into the equal-area elliptical Mollweide projection three centuries afterward. Bordone's map portrays a distorted view of the New World, showing only the northern regions of South America and depicting North America as a large island labeled Terra del Laboratore (Land of the Worker), a likely reference to the region's active slave trade during that period, which also influenced the name Labrador.
The book also contains the earliest known printed account of Francisco Pizarro's conquest of Peru, making it a significant historical document. Among the numerous woodcut maps included in Isolario, twelve are dedicated to the Americas. These maps feature a plan of "Temistitan" (Tenochtitlan, modern Mexico City) before its destruction by Hernán Cortés, and a map of Ciampagu, the earliest known European-printed map of Japan depicted as an island.
Benedetto Bordone's familial connections are also of interest; he is reputed to have been the father of Julius Caesar Scaliger, a noted classical scholar, and the grandfather of Joseph Justus Scaliger, who is recognized as the founder of the science of historical chronology. The original maps from Bordone's Isolario are highly valued today for their historical significance and intricate craftsmanship. Through his work, Bordone has left an indelible mark on the history of cartography, providing invaluable insights into the geographical knowledge and cultural perceptions of his time.
![Asiae, Quae Vulgò Minor Dicitur, et Syriae tabula geographica, quantum per subsidia licuit elaborata, opere, si quod aliud in antiqua geographia, arduo. Quam tabulam clariss. Dom. Comes de Caylus in aere incidi curavit. [Asia, commonly called the Lesser, and Syria, a geographic map, as much as it was possible to elaborate with the aids, a work, if any in ancient geography, arduous. This map the most illustrious Lord Count of Caylus had carved in copper.]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/100258.jpg)
