In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected with the selection of h... more In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected with the selection of historical iconographic materials. We deal with a topic which is propaedeutic to the georeferencing work or to any application of digital technologies to cartographic heritage objects. It has also strong implication with the use of historical iconographic materials in order to establish the condition of territory in modern period (XVI-XIX cent.). That's why we will look at the historical iconographic production which reproduces Elba Island between 14th and 19th century. Placed in the Tuscan archipelago, Elba is the third largest island of Italy with a surface of 223 km2. We may consider Elba not only a significant case of study but also a representative model of an area which attracted a large and composite iconographic production. Its insular character encourages the design of a territory in the fullness of its physical (and maritime) borders: a condition which we hardly find in the iconography of continental coastal strips. The history of this island testifies of the political fragmentation of a territorial unit. Elba was ruled by the Appiani House of Piombino but in 1557 borders were fixed to delineate the Portoferraio enclave of Tuscan Grand Duchy while Porto Longone (nowadays Porto Azzurro) moved to Spain at the end of the same century. The political events together with the centrality of Elba in the Mediterranean routes on the one hand produced a large amount of iconographic materials and on the other hand allow a differentiation of figures as a result of the drawings of different navies and States.
This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing with the ... more This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing with the Ottoman nautical atlas of Piri Reis: the Kitab i Bahriye (1521 and 1525-1526). Taking as a point of reference the Ligurian Sea, and more specifically the Tuscan coast, the Ottoman atlas has been compared with the mediaeval nautical charts and with the early sixteenth-century production (Lepore, Piccardi, Pranzini, 2011). In the quest for sources that may have inspired or influenced the Ottoman Admiral, we have identified and more closely analysed the authors of several nautical charts and atlases and of isolarii. This article focuses on cartometric issues relating to mediaeval nautical cartography (Portolan charts). More specifically, it analyses the 1403 chart of Francesco Beccari conserved in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University. This chart represents a crucial turning-point in the development of nautical cartography: namely a refinement in the drawing of the coasts relating to the Atlantic, with corrections that were partially retained in subsequent production. It also features a graduated scale of latitude which is considered a later interpolation. The technique behind the construction of the portolan chart (with a rapid incursion into the symbolism connected with the place name colouring) will be analysed in detail, placing it in relation to other selected models that have been conserved. The aim is to make a contribution to the debate on the techniques of construction of the portolan charts.
Summary: An ever growing number of experts and specialists in modern territorial evolution use hi... more Summary: An ever growing number of experts and specialists in modern territorial evolution use historical cartography as a primary source. We can say the same for those interested in the evolution of a coastline, not necessarily from an historical point of view, but because they are engaged in counteracting what appears to be an un-restrainable phenomenon of erosion that in 2006 concerned 42 % of the low sandy beaches of the Italian coast. We do not have to go too far back in time to see that the intermittent phenomena of an advancing and retreating coastline is not new. Compared to a century or two ago, however, erosion today not only causes severe and immediate economic repercussions, but in the short and intermediate time frame risks the same repercussions on population distribution and settlement at both a national and regional level. Naturally this is all due to global factors: climate change, rising sea levels, greenhouse effect, and others. Few negationists are left, but the ...
At the end of the Medici dynasty and the beginning of domination by the Lorraine, increasing atte... more At the end of the Medici dynasty and the beginning of domination by the Lorraine, increasing attention was paid by the government to the Granducato's defensive network. The abandoned state of many of the costal watchtowers (combined with the notable phenomenon of progradation along the low sandy coastal areas) stimulated the authorities to verify the conditions of all the fortifications in the Granducato's network. This operation produced an imposing and articulate mass of documents Following a general summary that takes into consideration the morphology and landscape of the Pisa coastline in the XVIII century, and the personalities involved in the design and realization of the new fortified structures, we will concentrate on the duration, techniques and static and structural difficulties related to the construction of a fort at the mouth of the Serchio River. A defensive work that in thirty years will rush into planning, building and dismantlement.
Summary: An ever growing number of experts and specialists in modern territorial evolution use hi... more Summary: An ever growing number of experts and specialists in modern territorial evolution use historical cartography as a primary source. We can say the same for those interested in the evolution of a coastline, not necessarily from an historical point of view, but because they are engaged in counteracting what appears to be an un-restrainable phenomenon of erosion that in 2006 concerned 42% of the low sandy beaches of the Italian coast. We do not have to go too far back in time to see that the intermittent phenomena of an advancing and retreating coastline is not new. Compared to a century or two ago, however, erosion today not only causes severe and immediate economic repercussions, but in the short and intermediate time frame risks the same repercussions on population distribution and settlement at both a national and regional level. Naturally this is all due to global factors: climate change, rising sea levels, greenhouse effect, and others. Few negationists are left, but the p...
Analysis of a large shoreline database (from 1878 to 2017) and recompilation of information on ty... more Analysis of a large shoreline database (from 1878 to 2017) and recompilation of information on type/age of shore protection structures along the Northern Tuscany, allowed a deep insight of the progressive armouring of this coastal sector. The area experienced beach erosion since the end of the 19th century due to reduced sediment inputs from rivers and harbour constructions. Shore protection structures started to develop at the beginning of the 20th century, first to protect settlements and coastal roads, later to maintain a beach for tourist activity. The changing of the goal and the increasing awareness of the negative impact of some structures resulted in an evolution of coastal defence projects: initially, seawalls and revetments, later detached breakwaters and, more recently, groins. Today, a reduction in hard structures is perceived by removing or lowering detached breakwaters and groins below mean sea level. The forcing function of the growing tourism industry is producing a ...
Summary This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing w... more Summary This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing with the Ottoman nautical atlas of Piri Reis: the Kitab i Bahriye (1521 and 1525-1526). Taking as a point of reference the Ligurian Sea, and more specifically the Tuscan coast, the Ottoman atlas has been compared with the mediaeval nautical charts and with the early sixteenth-century production (Lepore, Piccardi, Pranzini, 2011). In the quest for sources that may have inspired or influenced the Ottoman Admiral, we have identified and more closely analysed the authors of several nauti- cal charts and atlases and of isolarii. This article focuses on cartometric issues relating to mediaeval nautical cartography (Portolan charts). More specifically, it analyses the 1403 chart of Francesco Beccari conserved in the Be- inecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University. This chart represents a crucial turning-point in the development of nautical cartography: namely a refinement in the d...
Summary: In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected with the selec... more Summary: In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected with the selection of historical iconographic materials. We deal with a topic which is propaedeutic to the georeferencing work or to any application of digital technologies to cartographic heritage objects. It has also strong implication with the use of historical iconographic materials in order to establish the condition of territory in modern period (XVIXIX cent.). That's why we will look at the historical iconographic production which reproduces Elba Island between 14th and 19th century. Placed in the Tuscan archipelago, Elba is the third largest island of Italy with a surface of 223 km2. We may consider Elba not only a significant case of study but also a representative model of an area which attracted a large and composite iconographic production. Its insular character encourages the design of a territory in the fullness of its physical (and maritime) borders: a condition which we hardly find...
Analysis of written documents, projects and historical cartography of the 17th and 18th centuries... more Analysis of written documents, projects and historical cartography of the 17th and 18th centuries allows reconstruction of the shore protection works performed at Callao (Peru) to defend the settlements and its boundary wall from storm waves and tsunamis. Groins appeared for the first time in early 18th century maps, together with gently sloping revetments in an unrealized project of the same period. Comparisons between Callao projects and those performed in Europe in the same centuries show a uniformity in design and construction materials that overpasses the environmental differences of the sites. Successes and failures followed each other and, although an understanding of coastal dynamics and the positive and negative effects of the various works were known, it was not possible to guarantee the stability of the walls and consequently the safety of the city from sea attack. A strategic retreat was even considered.
In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected
with the selection of h... more In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected with the selection of historical iconographic materials. We deal with a topic which is propaedeutic to the georeferencing work or to any application of digital technologies to cartographic heritage objects. It has also strong implication with the use of historical iconographic materials in order to establish the condition of territory in modern period (XVIXIX cent.). That's why we will look at the historical iconographic production which reproduces Elba Island between 14th and 19th century. Placed in the Tuscan archipelago, Elba is the third largest island of Italy with a surface of 223 km2. We may consider Elba not only a significant case of study but also a representative model of an area which attracted a large and composite iconographic production. Its insular character encourages the design of a territory in the fullness of its physical (and maritime) borders: a condition which we hardly find in the iconography of continental coastal strips. The history of this island testifies of the political fragmentation of a territorial unit. Elba was ruled by the Appiani House of Piombino but in 1557 borders were fixed to delineate the Portoferraio enclave of Tuscan Grand Duchy while Porto Longone (nowadays Porto Azzurro) moved to Spain at the end of the same century. The political events together with the centrality of Elba in the Mediterranean routes on the one hand produced a large amount of iconographic materials and on the other hand allow a differentiation of figures as a result of the drawings of different navies and States.
These pages consider the Kitab-i Bahriye by Piri Reis, a corsair and later Admiral of the Turkish... more These pages consider the Kitab-i Bahriye by Piri Reis, a corsair and later Admiral of the Turkish fleet as well as an authoritative cartographer who worked during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The Kitab-i Bahriye is a portolan atlas that includes a treatise on seafaring and usually several charts (varying from a few dozen to over two hundred, depending on the copy) illustrating relatively extensive portions of the Mediterranean coasts. We shall consider six different versions that are preserved in Istanbul and span over two centuries, focusing primarily on the maps related to the Tuscan coast and archipelago. We will compare these maps with previous and contemporary examples of nautical and terrestrial cartography. Our intention is to focus new attention on a monumental document of Ottoman cartography that enjoyed a remarkably enduring manuscript tradition.
In this paper cartographic sources from XVI - XVIII centuries are analysed to reconstruct coastal... more In this paper cartographic sources from XVI - XVIII centuries are analysed to reconstruct coastal evolution at the mouth of Morto and Serchio rivers Special attention is given to natural and anthropogenic changes at their terminal courses, which flow in the northern part of the Pisan plain. The study points to outstanding consistency between the different cartographic documents produced by several authors for their varying clients, and between these and the technical notes that are part of the hydraulic projects developed in the three centuries studied. This research demonstrates that evolution of this coastal stretch is highly influenced by the sediment input from the Arno river: it discharges just south of the stretch studied and its sediments block or divert the mouth of minor rivers. Hydraulic works often consisted of deviation or union of watercourses and were conducted to allow water to flow through a mouth that tended to close. Only for a short period in the eighteenth century, the Serchio river had a sedimentary input sufficiently high to allow a “hint” of a delta to develop, which we can today detect in the convergence of foredunes.
At the end of the Medici dynasty and the beginning of domination by the Lorraine, increasing atte... more At the end of the Medici dynasty and the beginning of domination by the Lorraine, increasing attention was paid by the government to the Granducato's defensive network. The abandoned state of many of the costal watchtowers (combined with the notable phenomenon of progradation along the low sandy coastal areas) stimulated the authorities to verify the conditions of all the fortifications in the Granducato's network. This operation produced an imposing and articulate mass of documents Following a general summary that takes into consideration the morphology and landscape of the Pisa coastline in the XVIII century, and the personalities involved in the design and realization of the new fortified structures, we will concentrate on the duration, techniques and static and structural difficulties related to the construction of a fort at the mouth of the Serchio River. A defensive work that in thirty years will rush into planning, building and dismantlement.
These pages deal with the knowledge and diffusion of latitude data during the Middle Ages. In lit... more These pages deal with the knowledge and diffusion of latitude data during the Middle Ages. In literature and up until the Renaissance, these knowledge and data are usually limited to a cultural elite and struggle to find practical applications in cartography. This is why nautical cartography in the Middle Ages is usually presented as the surprising result of primarily practical knowledge based, above all, on the direct experience of navigators, and, secondarily, on the use of simple navigational instruments such as the compass and the hourglass. If on the one hand this premise explains the diffusion and uniformity of cartography during the XIV th and XV th centuries, on the other it causes a break with previous models (very few of which still exist) and with the renewed scientific studies that became more widespread starting from the XI th century.
L’analisi della cartografia storica dei secoli XVI-XIX relativa al delta del Fiume Arno, unitamen... more L’analisi della cartografia storica dei secoli XVI-XIX relativa al delta del Fiume Arno, unitamente al confronto con fonti letterarie e documentazione archeologica, consente di tracciare l’evoluzione di questo territorio con grande precisione e di valutare l’importanza che hanno avuto i fattori naturali e quelli antropici nei processi di rimodellamento dell’asta terminale del fiume e della morfologia della costa. Il confronto incrociato tra fonti diverse ha messo in evidenza l’accuratezza dei documenti cartografici dei secoli passati e la loro coerenza nel descrivere evoluzioni morfologiche, delle quali oggi sono noti i processi fisici che le determinano. Modelli concettuali sviluppati negli ultimi decenni trovano così applicazione in processi descritti da documenti vecchi di cinque secoli, i quali, a loro volta, acquistano grande attualità consentendo di inquadrare i processi attuali di rimodellamento della costa e le proiezioni sulla sua evoluzione futura in un contesto conoscitivo di grande coerenza. Si evidenzia così che vari fattori, naturali ed antropici, hanno giocato ruoli diversi, alcune volte in netto contrasto fra di loro, in altre con insospettate sinergie. I processi che hanno portato alla crescita del delta di oltre 7 km in 2500 anni sono particolarmente intensi nei secoli analizzati, quando si è formata circa la metà dell’apparato deltizio, ed è per questo che carte disegnate a pochi anni di distanza l’una dall’altra mettono in evidenza significative modificazioni territoriali. I documenti della seconda metà del XVIII e del XIX secolo, ancor più accurati e con scansione temporale più ristretta, consentono di descrivere con grande dettaglio quella fase di transizione fra la progradazione e l’erosione della cuspide deltizia, processo quest’ultimo che ha determinato, sul lobo settentrionale non protetto da opere di difesa, un arretramento della linea di riva di oltre 1300 m dagli anni ’80 dell’Ottocento ai nostri giorni.
Along the northwestern Tuscan littoral, using 18th to 20th century cartography together with repo... more Along the northwestern Tuscan littoral, using 18th to 20th century cartography together with reports from specialists and engineers, we can reconstruct the costal dynamics, environmental evolution and organization of the territory - the marshland recovery and agrarian colonization of the lowlands and the construction of the two simple docking facilities serving the towns of Avenza-Carrara and Massa. Since the late medieval period this area belonged to the Malaspina Principato, later the Cybo Malaspina di Massa Carrara, and from the 1730’s until 1859 to the Este Duchy of Modena. For many years the littoral’s only seaports were the problematic havens at the mouths of the Magra, Carrione and Frigido rivers. The littoral was almost completely uninhabited until the construction plan for the port of Avenza (now known as Marina di Carrara) was undertaken. The history of this Italian port is well known, having the dubious honor of the longest period between initial planning and final completion: from the middle of the 18th century until the middle of the 20th century. Less well known are the territory’s natural dynamics, costal advancement, erosion and wave action. The study of these records allows us to bring the profound transformations of the Apuan landscape and costal environment between the 18th and 20th centuries to the forefront. At first characterized by littoral advancement and later, from the end of the 19th century until the present, by the littoral erosion that is undermining seaside tourism, the area’s primary economic activity. These records also allow us to better understand the processes behind these transformations and to formulate plans for their management, in the attempt to reduce erosion without further burdening the coast with rigid defense works. Published in e-Perimetron: http://www.e-perimetron.org/
This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing with the ... more This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing with the Ottoman nautical atlas of Piri Reis: the Kitab i Bahriye (1521 and 1525-1526). Taking as a point of reference the Ligurian Sea, and more specifically the Tuscan coast, the Ottoman atlas has been compared with the medieval nautical charts and with the early sixteenth-century production (Lepore, Piccardi, Pranzini, 2011). In the quest for sources that may have inspired or influenced the Ottoman Admiral, we have identified and more closely analysed the authors of several nautical charts and atlases and of isolarii. This article focuses on cartometric issues relating to mediaeval nautical cartography (Portolan charts). More specifically, it analyses the 1403 chart of Francesco Beccari conserved in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University. This chart represents a crucial turning-point in the development of nautical cartography: namely a refinement in the drawing of the coasts relating to the Atlantic, with corrections that were partially retained in subsequent production. It also features a graduated scale of latitude which is considered a later interpolation. The technique behind the construction of the portolan chart (with a rapid incursion into the symbolism connected with the place name colouring) will be analysed in detail, placing it in relation to other selected models that have been conserved. The aim is to contribute to the debate on the techniques of construction of the portolan charts.
Historical cartography is increasingly being used for the study of coastal evolution, but less co... more Historical cartography is increasingly being used for the study of coastal evolution, but less considered are coeval descriptive sources as well as exploration reports that accompany the construction of maps. Herein, these issues are considered when analyzing the chronological model of the Rio Sinú mouth and Cispatá bay evolution before the Tinajones delta formed (around 1942–1943) as it is established in the literature. This study is based on the examination of about 500 manuscripts or printed maps produced from the 16th century to 1937 (the last one before the Tinajones delta was formed) in which the Morrosquillo Gulf, the Rio Sinú terminal course, the Mestizos headland and Cispatá bay are represented. These maps were compared with coeval descriptive sources. Several maps are not based on new topographic surveys but are more recent elaborations of the original documents, while others include updates of only limited portions of the area and simply replicate or mix a drawn coastline...
These pages consider the Kitab-i Bahriye by Piri Reis, a corsair and later Admiral of the Turkish... more These pages consider the Kitab-i Bahriye by Piri Reis, a corsair and later Admiral of the Turkish fleet as well as an authoritative cartographer who worked during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The Kitab-i Bahriye is a portolan atlas that includes a treatise on seafaring and usually several charts (varying from a few dozen to over two hundred, depending on the copy) illustrating relatively extensive portions of the Mediterranean coasts. We shall consider six different versions that are preserved in Istanbul and span over two centuries, focusing primarily on the maps related to the Tuscan coast and archipelago. We will compare these maps with previous and contemporary examples of nautical and terrestrial cartography. Our intention is to focus new attention on a monumental document of Ottoman cartography that enjoyed a remarkably enduring manuscript tradition.
In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected with the selection of h... more In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected with the selection of historical iconographic materials. We deal with a topic which is propaedeutic to the georeferencing work or to any application of digital technologies to cartographic heritage objects. It has also strong implication with the use of historical iconographic materials in order to establish the condition of territory in modern period (XVI-XIX cent.). That's why we will look at the historical iconographic production which reproduces Elba Island between 14th and 19th century. Placed in the Tuscan archipelago, Elba is the third largest island of Italy with a surface of 223 km2. We may consider Elba not only a significant case of study but also a representative model of an area which attracted a large and composite iconographic production. Its insular character encourages the design of a territory in the fullness of its physical (and maritime) borders: a condition which we hardly find in the iconography of continental coastal strips. The history of this island testifies of the political fragmentation of a territorial unit. Elba was ruled by the Appiani House of Piombino but in 1557 borders were fixed to delineate the Portoferraio enclave of Tuscan Grand Duchy while Porto Longone (nowadays Porto Azzurro) moved to Spain at the end of the same century. The political events together with the centrality of Elba in the Mediterranean routes on the one hand produced a large amount of iconographic materials and on the other hand allow a differentiation of figures as a result of the drawings of different navies and States.
This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing with the ... more This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing with the Ottoman nautical atlas of Piri Reis: the Kitab i Bahriye (1521 and 1525-1526). Taking as a point of reference the Ligurian Sea, and more specifically the Tuscan coast, the Ottoman atlas has been compared with the mediaeval nautical charts and with the early sixteenth-century production (Lepore, Piccardi, Pranzini, 2011). In the quest for sources that may have inspired or influenced the Ottoman Admiral, we have identified and more closely analysed the authors of several nautical charts and atlases and of isolarii. This article focuses on cartometric issues relating to mediaeval nautical cartography (Portolan charts). More specifically, it analyses the 1403 chart of Francesco Beccari conserved in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University. This chart represents a crucial turning-point in the development of nautical cartography: namely a refinement in the drawing of the coasts relating to the Atlantic, with corrections that were partially retained in subsequent production. It also features a graduated scale of latitude which is considered a later interpolation. The technique behind the construction of the portolan chart (with a rapid incursion into the symbolism connected with the place name colouring) will be analysed in detail, placing it in relation to other selected models that have been conserved. The aim is to make a contribution to the debate on the techniques of construction of the portolan charts.
Summary: An ever growing number of experts and specialists in modern territorial evolution use hi... more Summary: An ever growing number of experts and specialists in modern territorial evolution use historical cartography as a primary source. We can say the same for those interested in the evolution of a coastline, not necessarily from an historical point of view, but because they are engaged in counteracting what appears to be an un-restrainable phenomenon of erosion that in 2006 concerned 42 % of the low sandy beaches of the Italian coast. We do not have to go too far back in time to see that the intermittent phenomena of an advancing and retreating coastline is not new. Compared to a century or two ago, however, erosion today not only causes severe and immediate economic repercussions, but in the short and intermediate time frame risks the same repercussions on population distribution and settlement at both a national and regional level. Naturally this is all due to global factors: climate change, rising sea levels, greenhouse effect, and others. Few negationists are left, but the ...
At the end of the Medici dynasty and the beginning of domination by the Lorraine, increasing atte... more At the end of the Medici dynasty and the beginning of domination by the Lorraine, increasing attention was paid by the government to the Granducato's defensive network. The abandoned state of many of the costal watchtowers (combined with the notable phenomenon of progradation along the low sandy coastal areas) stimulated the authorities to verify the conditions of all the fortifications in the Granducato's network. This operation produced an imposing and articulate mass of documents Following a general summary that takes into consideration the morphology and landscape of the Pisa coastline in the XVIII century, and the personalities involved in the design and realization of the new fortified structures, we will concentrate on the duration, techniques and static and structural difficulties related to the construction of a fort at the mouth of the Serchio River. A defensive work that in thirty years will rush into planning, building and dismantlement.
Summary: An ever growing number of experts and specialists in modern territorial evolution use hi... more Summary: An ever growing number of experts and specialists in modern territorial evolution use historical cartography as a primary source. We can say the same for those interested in the evolution of a coastline, not necessarily from an historical point of view, but because they are engaged in counteracting what appears to be an un-restrainable phenomenon of erosion that in 2006 concerned 42% of the low sandy beaches of the Italian coast. We do not have to go too far back in time to see that the intermittent phenomena of an advancing and retreating coastline is not new. Compared to a century or two ago, however, erosion today not only causes severe and immediate economic repercussions, but in the short and intermediate time frame risks the same repercussions on population distribution and settlement at both a national and regional level. Naturally this is all due to global factors: climate change, rising sea levels, greenhouse effect, and others. Few negationists are left, but the p...
Analysis of a large shoreline database (from 1878 to 2017) and recompilation of information on ty... more Analysis of a large shoreline database (from 1878 to 2017) and recompilation of information on type/age of shore protection structures along the Northern Tuscany, allowed a deep insight of the progressive armouring of this coastal sector. The area experienced beach erosion since the end of the 19th century due to reduced sediment inputs from rivers and harbour constructions. Shore protection structures started to develop at the beginning of the 20th century, first to protect settlements and coastal roads, later to maintain a beach for tourist activity. The changing of the goal and the increasing awareness of the negative impact of some structures resulted in an evolution of coastal defence projects: initially, seawalls and revetments, later detached breakwaters and, more recently, groins. Today, a reduction in hard structures is perceived by removing or lowering detached breakwaters and groins below mean sea level. The forcing function of the growing tourism industry is producing a ...
Summary This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing w... more Summary This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing with the Ottoman nautical atlas of Piri Reis: the Kitab i Bahriye (1521 and 1525-1526). Taking as a point of reference the Ligurian Sea, and more specifically the Tuscan coast, the Ottoman atlas has been compared with the mediaeval nautical charts and with the early sixteenth-century production (Lepore, Piccardi, Pranzini, 2011). In the quest for sources that may have inspired or influenced the Ottoman Admiral, we have identified and more closely analysed the authors of several nauti- cal charts and atlases and of isolarii. This article focuses on cartometric issues relating to mediaeval nautical cartography (Portolan charts). More specifically, it analyses the 1403 chart of Francesco Beccari conserved in the Be- inecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University. This chart represents a crucial turning-point in the development of nautical cartography: namely a refinement in the d...
Summary: In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected with the selec... more Summary: In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected with the selection of historical iconographic materials. We deal with a topic which is propaedeutic to the georeferencing work or to any application of digital technologies to cartographic heritage objects. It has also strong implication with the use of historical iconographic materials in order to establish the condition of territory in modern period (XVIXIX cent.). That's why we will look at the historical iconographic production which reproduces Elba Island between 14th and 19th century. Placed in the Tuscan archipelago, Elba is the third largest island of Italy with a surface of 223 km2. We may consider Elba not only a significant case of study but also a representative model of an area which attracted a large and composite iconographic production. Its insular character encourages the design of a territory in the fullness of its physical (and maritime) borders: a condition which we hardly find...
Analysis of written documents, projects and historical cartography of the 17th and 18th centuries... more Analysis of written documents, projects and historical cartography of the 17th and 18th centuries allows reconstruction of the shore protection works performed at Callao (Peru) to defend the settlements and its boundary wall from storm waves and tsunamis. Groins appeared for the first time in early 18th century maps, together with gently sloping revetments in an unrealized project of the same period. Comparisons between Callao projects and those performed in Europe in the same centuries show a uniformity in design and construction materials that overpasses the environmental differences of the sites. Successes and failures followed each other and, although an understanding of coastal dynamics and the positive and negative effects of the various works were known, it was not possible to guarantee the stability of the walls and consequently the safety of the city from sea attack. A strategic retreat was even considered.
In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected
with the selection of h... more In the following pages we propose a discussion around questions connected with the selection of historical iconographic materials. We deal with a topic which is propaedeutic to the georeferencing work or to any application of digital technologies to cartographic heritage objects. It has also strong implication with the use of historical iconographic materials in order to establish the condition of territory in modern period (XVIXIX cent.). That's why we will look at the historical iconographic production which reproduces Elba Island between 14th and 19th century. Placed in the Tuscan archipelago, Elba is the third largest island of Italy with a surface of 223 km2. We may consider Elba not only a significant case of study but also a representative model of an area which attracted a large and composite iconographic production. Its insular character encourages the design of a territory in the fullness of its physical (and maritime) borders: a condition which we hardly find in the iconography of continental coastal strips. The history of this island testifies of the political fragmentation of a territorial unit. Elba was ruled by the Appiani House of Piombino but in 1557 borders were fixed to delineate the Portoferraio enclave of Tuscan Grand Duchy while Porto Longone (nowadays Porto Azzurro) moved to Spain at the end of the same century. The political events together with the centrality of Elba in the Mediterranean routes on the one hand produced a large amount of iconographic materials and on the other hand allow a differentiation of figures as a result of the drawings of different navies and States.
These pages consider the Kitab-i Bahriye by Piri Reis, a corsair and later Admiral of the Turkish... more These pages consider the Kitab-i Bahriye by Piri Reis, a corsair and later Admiral of the Turkish fleet as well as an authoritative cartographer who worked during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The Kitab-i Bahriye is a portolan atlas that includes a treatise on seafaring and usually several charts (varying from a few dozen to over two hundred, depending on the copy) illustrating relatively extensive portions of the Mediterranean coasts. We shall consider six different versions that are preserved in Istanbul and span over two centuries, focusing primarily on the maps related to the Tuscan coast and archipelago. We will compare these maps with previous and contemporary examples of nautical and terrestrial cartography. Our intention is to focus new attention on a monumental document of Ottoman cartography that enjoyed a remarkably enduring manuscript tradition.
In this paper cartographic sources from XVI - XVIII centuries are analysed to reconstruct coastal... more In this paper cartographic sources from XVI - XVIII centuries are analysed to reconstruct coastal evolution at the mouth of Morto and Serchio rivers Special attention is given to natural and anthropogenic changes at their terminal courses, which flow in the northern part of the Pisan plain. The study points to outstanding consistency between the different cartographic documents produced by several authors for their varying clients, and between these and the technical notes that are part of the hydraulic projects developed in the three centuries studied. This research demonstrates that evolution of this coastal stretch is highly influenced by the sediment input from the Arno river: it discharges just south of the stretch studied and its sediments block or divert the mouth of minor rivers. Hydraulic works often consisted of deviation or union of watercourses and were conducted to allow water to flow through a mouth that tended to close. Only for a short period in the eighteenth century, the Serchio river had a sedimentary input sufficiently high to allow a “hint” of a delta to develop, which we can today detect in the convergence of foredunes.
At the end of the Medici dynasty and the beginning of domination by the Lorraine, increasing atte... more At the end of the Medici dynasty and the beginning of domination by the Lorraine, increasing attention was paid by the government to the Granducato's defensive network. The abandoned state of many of the costal watchtowers (combined with the notable phenomenon of progradation along the low sandy coastal areas) stimulated the authorities to verify the conditions of all the fortifications in the Granducato's network. This operation produced an imposing and articulate mass of documents Following a general summary that takes into consideration the morphology and landscape of the Pisa coastline in the XVIII century, and the personalities involved in the design and realization of the new fortified structures, we will concentrate on the duration, techniques and static and structural difficulties related to the construction of a fort at the mouth of the Serchio River. A defensive work that in thirty years will rush into planning, building and dismantlement.
These pages deal with the knowledge and diffusion of latitude data during the Middle Ages. In lit... more These pages deal with the knowledge and diffusion of latitude data during the Middle Ages. In literature and up until the Renaissance, these knowledge and data are usually limited to a cultural elite and struggle to find practical applications in cartography. This is why nautical cartography in the Middle Ages is usually presented as the surprising result of primarily practical knowledge based, above all, on the direct experience of navigators, and, secondarily, on the use of simple navigational instruments such as the compass and the hourglass. If on the one hand this premise explains the diffusion and uniformity of cartography during the XIV th and XV th centuries, on the other it causes a break with previous models (very few of which still exist) and with the renewed scientific studies that became more widespread starting from the XI th century.
L’analisi della cartografia storica dei secoli XVI-XIX relativa al delta del Fiume Arno, unitamen... more L’analisi della cartografia storica dei secoli XVI-XIX relativa al delta del Fiume Arno, unitamente al confronto con fonti letterarie e documentazione archeologica, consente di tracciare l’evoluzione di questo territorio con grande precisione e di valutare l’importanza che hanno avuto i fattori naturali e quelli antropici nei processi di rimodellamento dell’asta terminale del fiume e della morfologia della costa. Il confronto incrociato tra fonti diverse ha messo in evidenza l’accuratezza dei documenti cartografici dei secoli passati e la loro coerenza nel descrivere evoluzioni morfologiche, delle quali oggi sono noti i processi fisici che le determinano. Modelli concettuali sviluppati negli ultimi decenni trovano così applicazione in processi descritti da documenti vecchi di cinque secoli, i quali, a loro volta, acquistano grande attualità consentendo di inquadrare i processi attuali di rimodellamento della costa e le proiezioni sulla sua evoluzione futura in un contesto conoscitivo di grande coerenza. Si evidenzia così che vari fattori, naturali ed antropici, hanno giocato ruoli diversi, alcune volte in netto contrasto fra di loro, in altre con insospettate sinergie. I processi che hanno portato alla crescita del delta di oltre 7 km in 2500 anni sono particolarmente intensi nei secoli analizzati, quando si è formata circa la metà dell’apparato deltizio, ed è per questo che carte disegnate a pochi anni di distanza l’una dall’altra mettono in evidenza significative modificazioni territoriali. I documenti della seconda metà del XVIII e del XIX secolo, ancor più accurati e con scansione temporale più ristretta, consentono di descrivere con grande dettaglio quella fase di transizione fra la progradazione e l’erosione della cuspide deltizia, processo quest’ultimo che ha determinato, sul lobo settentrionale non protetto da opere di difesa, un arretramento della linea di riva di oltre 1300 m dagli anni ’80 dell’Ottocento ai nostri giorni.
Along the northwestern Tuscan littoral, using 18th to 20th century cartography together with repo... more Along the northwestern Tuscan littoral, using 18th to 20th century cartography together with reports from specialists and engineers, we can reconstruct the costal dynamics, environmental evolution and organization of the territory - the marshland recovery and agrarian colonization of the lowlands and the construction of the two simple docking facilities serving the towns of Avenza-Carrara and Massa. Since the late medieval period this area belonged to the Malaspina Principato, later the Cybo Malaspina di Massa Carrara, and from the 1730’s until 1859 to the Este Duchy of Modena. For many years the littoral’s only seaports were the problematic havens at the mouths of the Magra, Carrione and Frigido rivers. The littoral was almost completely uninhabited until the construction plan for the port of Avenza (now known as Marina di Carrara) was undertaken. The history of this Italian port is well known, having the dubious honor of the longest period between initial planning and final completion: from the middle of the 18th century until the middle of the 20th century. Less well known are the territory’s natural dynamics, costal advancement, erosion and wave action. The study of these records allows us to bring the profound transformations of the Apuan landscape and costal environment between the 18th and 20th centuries to the forefront. At first characterized by littoral advancement and later, from the end of the 19th century until the present, by the littoral erosion that is undermining seaside tourism, the area’s primary economic activity. These records also allow us to better understand the processes behind these transformations and to formulate plans for their management, in the attempt to reduce erosion without further burdening the coast with rigid defense works. Published in e-Perimetron: http://www.e-perimetron.org/
This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing with the ... more This contribution represents a focused insight within a larger research project dealing with the Ottoman nautical atlas of Piri Reis: the Kitab i Bahriye (1521 and 1525-1526). Taking as a point of reference the Ligurian Sea, and more specifically the Tuscan coast, the Ottoman atlas has been compared with the medieval nautical charts and with the early sixteenth-century production (Lepore, Piccardi, Pranzini, 2011). In the quest for sources that may have inspired or influenced the Ottoman Admiral, we have identified and more closely analysed the authors of several nautical charts and atlases and of isolarii. This article focuses on cartometric issues relating to mediaeval nautical cartography (Portolan charts). More specifically, it analyses the 1403 chart of Francesco Beccari conserved in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University. This chart represents a crucial turning-point in the development of nautical cartography: namely a refinement in the drawing of the coasts relating to the Atlantic, with corrections that were partially retained in subsequent production. It also features a graduated scale of latitude which is considered a later interpolation. The technique behind the construction of the portolan chart (with a rapid incursion into the symbolism connected with the place name colouring) will be analysed in detail, placing it in relation to other selected models that have been conserved. The aim is to contribute to the debate on the techniques of construction of the portolan charts.
Historical cartography is increasingly being used for the study of coastal evolution, but less co... more Historical cartography is increasingly being used for the study of coastal evolution, but less considered are coeval descriptive sources as well as exploration reports that accompany the construction of maps. Herein, these issues are considered when analyzing the chronological model of the Rio Sinú mouth and Cispatá bay evolution before the Tinajones delta formed (around 1942–1943) as it is established in the literature. This study is based on the examination of about 500 manuscripts or printed maps produced from the 16th century to 1937 (the last one before the Tinajones delta was formed) in which the Morrosquillo Gulf, the Rio Sinú terminal course, the Mestizos headland and Cispatá bay are represented. These maps were compared with coeval descriptive sources. Several maps are not based on new topographic surveys but are more recent elaborations of the original documents, while others include updates of only limited portions of the area and simply replicate or mix a drawn coastline...
These pages consider the Kitab-i Bahriye by Piri Reis, a corsair and later Admiral of the Turkish... more These pages consider the Kitab-i Bahriye by Piri Reis, a corsair and later Admiral of the Turkish fleet as well as an authoritative cartographer who worked during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The Kitab-i Bahriye is a portolan atlas that includes a treatise on seafaring and usually several charts (varying from a few dozen to over two hundred, depending on the copy) illustrating relatively extensive portions of the Mediterranean coasts. We shall consider six different versions that are preserved in Istanbul and span over two centuries, focusing primarily on the maps related to the Tuscan coast and archipelago. We will compare these maps with previous and contemporary examples of nautical and terrestrial cartography. Our intention is to focus new attention on a monumental document of Ottoman cartography that enjoyed a remarkably enduring manuscript tradition.
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Papers by Marco Piccardi
with the selection of historical iconographic materials. We deal with a topic which is propaedeutic
to the georeferencing work or to any application of digital technologies to cartographic
heritage objects. It has also strong implication with the use of historical iconographic
materials in order to establish the condition of territory in modern period (XVIXIX
cent.).
That's why we will look at the historical iconographic production which reproduces Elba
Island between 14th and 19th century.
Placed in the Tuscan archipelago, Elba is the third largest island of Italy with a surface of
223 km2. We may consider Elba not only a significant case of study but also a representative
model of an area which attracted a large and composite iconographic production. Its
insular character encourages the design of a territory in the fullness of its physical (and
maritime) borders: a condition which we hardly find in the iconography of continental
coastal strips. The history of this island testifies of the political fragmentation of a territorial
unit. Elba was ruled by the Appiani House of Piombino but in 1557 borders were
fixed to delineate the Portoferraio enclave of Tuscan Grand Duchy while Porto Longone
(nowadays Porto Azzurro) moved to Spain at the end of the same century. The political
events together with the centrality of Elba in the Mediterranean routes on the one hand
produced a large amount of iconographic materials and on the other hand allow a differentiation
of figures as a result of the drawings of different navies and States.
mouth of Morto and Serchio rivers Special attention is given to natural and anthropogenic changes at their terminal
courses, which flow in the northern part of the Pisan plain.
The study points to outstanding consistency between the different cartographic documents produced by several
authors for their varying clients, and between these and the technical notes that are part of the hydraulic projects
developed in the three centuries studied.
This research demonstrates that evolution of this coastal stretch is highly influenced by the sediment input from the Arno
river: it discharges just south of the stretch studied and its sediments block or divert the mouth of minor rivers. Hydraulic
works often consisted of deviation or union of watercourses and were conducted to allow water to flow through a mouth
that tended to close. Only for a short period in the eighteenth century, the Serchio river had a sedimentary input sufficiently
high to allow a “hint” of a delta to develop, which we can today detect in the convergence of foredunes.
with the selection of historical iconographic materials. We deal with a topic which is propaedeutic
to the georeferencing work or to any application of digital technologies to cartographic
heritage objects. It has also strong implication with the use of historical iconographic
materials in order to establish the condition of territory in modern period (XVIXIX
cent.).
That's why we will look at the historical iconographic production which reproduces Elba
Island between 14th and 19th century.
Placed in the Tuscan archipelago, Elba is the third largest island of Italy with a surface of
223 km2. We may consider Elba not only a significant case of study but also a representative
model of an area which attracted a large and composite iconographic production. Its
insular character encourages the design of a territory in the fullness of its physical (and
maritime) borders: a condition which we hardly find in the iconography of continental
coastal strips. The history of this island testifies of the political fragmentation of a territorial
unit. Elba was ruled by the Appiani House of Piombino but in 1557 borders were
fixed to delineate the Portoferraio enclave of Tuscan Grand Duchy while Porto Longone
(nowadays Porto Azzurro) moved to Spain at the end of the same century. The political
events together with the centrality of Elba in the Mediterranean routes on the one hand
produced a large amount of iconographic materials and on the other hand allow a differentiation
of figures as a result of the drawings of different navies and States.
mouth of Morto and Serchio rivers Special attention is given to natural and anthropogenic changes at their terminal
courses, which flow in the northern part of the Pisan plain.
The study points to outstanding consistency between the different cartographic documents produced by several
authors for their varying clients, and between these and the technical notes that are part of the hydraulic projects
developed in the three centuries studied.
This research demonstrates that evolution of this coastal stretch is highly influenced by the sediment input from the Arno
river: it discharges just south of the stretch studied and its sediments block or divert the mouth of minor rivers. Hydraulic
works often consisted of deviation or union of watercourses and were conducted to allow water to flow through a mouth
that tended to close. Only for a short period in the eighteenth century, the Serchio river had a sedimentary input sufficiently
high to allow a “hint” of a delta to develop, which we can today detect in the convergence of foredunes.