The last time I’d been to Italy was 1997, visiting the sights of Rome and Naples/ Herculaneum with Martin, who was almost 18 at the time. But the reason for my trip to Italy in October 2004 was to attend the 23rd International Symposium of the International Map Collectors Society. The opportunity to visit great and usually-closed palaces and villas was a real draw. I had invested in my first significant map in 2003, and was starting on my voyage into the wide world of antique maps. I was encouraged to attend this symposium by Len Rothman, who has been active for many years in the Bay Area map collectors group.
The
symposium started in Modena
with a welcome reception at the Palazza Communale (town hall) This is part of a larger building on one side
of the Piazza Grande acr4oss from the Duomo
Our
host was the Mayor of Modena, Sindaco Giogio Pighi, accompanied by the
Councilor for Culture, Mario Lugli.
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| Photo courtesy of Maurizio Moro5153 |
The
first full day of the symposium, we went by bus for 90 minutes to Verona. The bus
let us off in the shadow of the walls of the old city. The walls were built by
the Romans for defense purposes, beginning in the 1st Century.
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| Photo courtesy of Dejvid Porcic |
During
our time to wander around the city, of course I went to Juliet’s balcony! This house is a tower house from between late 13th and early
14th century, and it was restored and opened to visitors in the 20th
century.
The
symposium opened at the Conservatorio Dall’Abaco Auditorium Montemezzi
Inside
this historic building is a terrific auditorium for hosting conferences like
ours
Lots of
papers were presented, but I enjoyed most the opportunity to learn about
portolan maps. Portolan charts are
(thank you, AI) historical nautical charts, primarily from the 13th to 16th centuries,
known for their accuracy in depicting coastlines and harbors, especially within
the Mediterranean Sea. They are characterized by a network of lines
emanating from compass roses, used for navigation, and detailed coastal
features. One of the highlights was a
1290 portolan chart.
The
titles for some of the other papers to be presented during the symposium are as
follows
* Marcus Perini: History of the cartography of the Veronese region
*Dick Pflederer: Portolan Charts: A Mediterranean tradition becomes an indispensable tool of the Age of Discovery*Dick Pflederer: Portolan Charts: A Mediterranean tradition becomes an indispensable tool of the Age of Discovery
*Angelo Cattaneo: Innovation in fifteenth century
*Cosmography : The first vernacular translation and adaptation of Ptolemy's Geography
*Vladimir Valerio: Italian Atlases : A survey on the State of the Art
*Marica Milanesi: A Special Geography for the King: The Terrestrial Globe made by Vincenzo Coronelli for Louis XIV (1681-83)
*Col. Antonio Finizio and Col. Giovanni Orru: The Italian Campaigns in North Africa reworked in 1762 by Francesco Grisellim who was asked to add voyages by the great explorers.
We saw an exhibition of maps from the Verona
Biblioteca Civica at San Giorgetto.
An evening reception at the Galleria Perini,
which acquires and sells many wonderful antique maps. Then, Back to Modena.
MODENA was an important center for
symposium activities. A very interesting
paper was given by Dr Piero Falchetta on the Fra Mauro World Map. We were not actually able to see this map in
Moderna, as it is kept in the Marciana Library in Venice, and the symposium did
not take attendees to Venice. But here
is an image of this map, for your information… and some day I will see it in
person!
In the Estense Library in Modena is one of
Italy’s most famous maps, The Catalan planishere.
Lunch at Da Enzo restaurant for a traditional
Modena meal.
In
addition to viewing the special exhibition of maps from the collection of the
Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, we saw an exhibition of maps in the nearby
Biblioteca Poletti. This is a beautiful building, inside and out!
Next
stop: Florence! The bus took the autostrada through the
mountains to Florence.
FLORENCE was
one center of our visits, and we were welcomed as a group into three libraries
holding rare maps and manuscripts that are otherwise closed to the public.
The
opening reception was at the town hall, the Palazzo Vecchio, also known as the
town hall in Florence.
At the
Palazzo Vecchio we saw many maps in the Hall of Maps. One of the interesting exhibits was a set of
maps of various parts of the 16th C. world painted on framed wooden
panels and arranged on all four sides of the Guarderobe.
There
was time to walk around Florence a bit.
We visited the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, a
building designed by Michelangelo in 1524 to house the Medici manuscript collection
The building was formally opened in
1571.
One of the monumental areas of the library, the
Canons’ cloister
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| The vestibule or entrance hall of the library |
A short walk away is the Palazzo Medici Riccardi,
built in 1444 as a private resident for Cosimo d’Medici.
There we visited the Biblioteca Riccardiani;
beautiful inside!
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| The reading room of the library |
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| Entrance to the library |
Our next visit was to the Instituto Geographical
Militare where we saw a special exhibition of maps, surveying instruments and
map production equipment. This institute
is the national mapping agency for Italy.
We bussed across the Arno to the southern suburbs
of Florence, and arrived at the Castello di S. Maria Novella which is located
on on the highest points in Tuscany. We
were greeted by the owner who described the castle and its history – it began
construction as a fortified farm in the 9th c. (As of 2024, it is being developed into a
luxury 40 room hotel with spa and wellness center.) We were treated to a visit
to the castle’s Zanzotto map collection with its focus on Tuscany.
It is on the highest hill between Siena and
Florence
We sipped Prosecco while visiting the Castello,
and then re-boarded the bus for a short trip down the hill to the Villa
Tavolese for dinner.
Sunset in Tuscany…
Our last gathering was for a farewell Reception
at Palazzo Gaddi in Florence.
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| Lobby of Palazzo Gaddi. |
And
then, homeward bound!
