Turin Map (Geocarta Nautica Universale), 1523

What it is

This is a hand-painted portolan chart on parchment, dated 1523 and also called the Geocarta Nautica Universale or Turin Map. It shows the Atlantic, with the Americas on the left and Europe and Africa on the right, with compass roses, rhumb lines, colored landmasses, flags and ships. It is believed to have been made by Juan (Giovanni) Vespucci from the Spanish royal standard chart, the padrón real, kept by the House of Trade in Seville. Nuño García de Toreno is also credited in the record. The curator's note describes it as a copy.

Why it matters

The chart is described as the first surviving map to record the results of the Magellan expedition, which Elcano brought back to Seville in 1522, and the first to show the full extent of the Pacific Ocean. Vespucci was involved in revising the map and in research on the line set by the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided newly found lands between Spain and Portugal. The House of Trade was founded under the Catholic Monarchs.

Look closer

• Which parts of the world are drawn with the most detail, and which appear only at the edges?
• Why would a royal chart need to show new expeditions and the line of the Treaty of Tordesillas?
• What does the chart leave out, such as the people who already lived in the lands it shows?