Giovanni Vespucci’s 1526 world map stands as a remarkable synthesis of cartographic knowledge produced at the height of the Spanish Age of Exploration. Created in Seville and based on the closely guarded padrón real, the official master chart of the Casa de Contratación, the planisphere reflects Vespucci’s privileged access to the most up-to-date geographical information. As nephew and heir to Amerigo Vespucci, Giovanni inherited both technical expertise and a critical role within Spain’s navigational bureaucracy. His lavishly illuminated map, likely intended as a gift for Charles V, combines practical nautical features with symbolic imagery and newly reported discoveries, notably in the Americas. The result is both a political instrument and a visually rich testament to early sixteenth-century global knowledge.
We have 1 facsimile edition of the manuscript "Vespucci’s World Map of 1526": Mapa Portulano de Juan Vespucci facsimile edition, published by Ediciones Grial, 1998
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