Printing a Mediterranean world : Florence, Constantinople, and the renaissance of geography / Sean Roberts.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Roberts, Sean E.

Series:

I Tatti studies in Italian Renaissance history.

Villa I Tatti.

I Tatti studies in Italian Renaissance history

I Tatti Studies in Italian Renaissance History

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Berlinghieri, Francesco, 1440-1501. Geographia.

Berlinghieri, Francesco.

Ptolemy, active 2nd century. Geographia.

Ptolemy.

Cartography--Italy--Florence--History--15th century.

Cartography.

Cartography--Turkey--Istanbul--History--15th century.

Europe--Maps--Early works to 1800.

Europe.

Turkey--History--Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918.

Turkey.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 293 p., [25] p. of plates ) ill., maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Florence, Constantinople, and the renaissance of geography

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Harvard University Press, c2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In 1482, the Florentine humanist and statesman Francesco Berlinghieri produced the Geographia, a book of over one hundred folio leaves describing the world in Italian verse, inspired by the ancient Greek geography of Ptolemy. The poem, divided into seven books (one for each day of the week the author "travels" the known world), is interleaved with lavishly engraved maps to accompany readers on this journey. Sean Roberts demonstrates that the Geographia represents the moment of transition between printing and manuscript culture, while forming a critical base for the rise of modern cartography. Simultaneously, the use of the Geographia as a diplomatic gift from Florence to the Ottoman Empire tells another story. This exchange expands our understanding of Mediterranean politics, European perceptions of the Ottomans, and Ottoman interest in mapping and print. The envoy to the Sultan represented the aspirations of the Florentine state, which chose not to bestow some other highly valued good, such as the city's renowned textiles, but instead the best example of what Florentine visual, material, and intellectual culture had to offer.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Introduction: Gifts From Afar

1 Ptolemy in Transit

2 The Rebirth of Geography

3 Making Books, Forging Communities

4 Printing Tolerance and Intolerance

Conclusion: Resurrection and Necromancy

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Formerly CIP.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674071612

0674071611

9780674068070

0674068076

OCLC:

1013966368