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Dated from the late13th century, the so-called "Pisana Carta” is considered to be the oldest nautical chart that has ever come down to us. It mainly covers the Mediterranean Sea, of which the Spanish and French coasts and the large islands are represented with some degree of accuracy. This map is part of the charts called "portolans” and it comprises their main attributes: harbour and port names inscribed perpendicular to the coastline, wind lines indicating compass directions and distance scales. Appearing in the ports of the western Mediterranean, these nautical charts turned out as key to naval mastery and the dissemination of the outcomes of European explorations from the 15th century onwards.

A map kept at the French national library BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France), Maps and Plans Department, shelf mark number Ge B 1118 RES
View this document in the digital Gallica library:
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b52503226n

Identification

Audiovisual processUtilisation d'animations et de cartes géographiques.
Commentaire en voix-off. Sons d'ambiance et musique.

NotesCarte conservée à la Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Cartes et plans, cote Ge B 1118 RES
Consulter le document dans la bibliothèque numérique Gallica : https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b52503226n


BnF : Bibliothèque nationale de France
LAMOP : Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris (INSHS)