RUSCELLI

NATOLIA NVOVA TAVOLA

RUSCELLI, Girolomo

Venice, 1599

19 x 25.5 cm.

The map first appeared in the 1561 edition of Ruscelli’s edition of Ptolemy’s Geografia. Ruscelli’s Atlas is an expanded edition of Gastaldi’s Atlas of 1548. This atlas has been called the most comprehensive atlas produced between Martin Waldseemüller’s Geographiae of 1513 and the Abraham Ortelius Theatrum of 1570. Ruscelli and Gastaldi’s maps were beautifully engraved on copper, marking a turning point in the history of cartography. From that point forward, the majority of cartographic works used this medium. As it was a harder material than wood, this medium gave the engraver the ability to render more detail. Gastaldi sought the most up-to-date geographical information available, making the modern maps in Ruscelli’s Geographia among the best modern maps of the period.