EXPLORE THE WORLD OF ANTIQUE MAPS

Livio Sanuto, a mathematician from Venice, planned a massive work to include maps and descriptions of the whole world, which he believed, would be more accurate than any previously published. Unfortunately, he died in 1576 having only completed 12 maps of Africa, of which map 15 is a fine example of the general map. This map was copied by other leading map makers for nearly a century. Apart from its content, the map was engraved to the high standard set by other Italian engravers. Notable among these was the Lafreri school of engravers, to which Sanuto belonged. The 12 maps were eventually published as an atlas in 1588 by Livio's brother Giulio. (Also available is Sanuto's map of Southern Africa.)