This earthly globe : a Venetian geographer and the race to map the world / Andrea di Robilant.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Di Robilant, Andrea, 1957- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Geographers--Italy--Biography.

Geographers.

Ramusio, Giovanni Battista, 1485-1557.

Ramusio, Giovanni Battista.

Italy.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

260 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2024.

Summary:

"In the autumn of 1550, a thick volume containing a wealth of new geographical information, with startling wood-cut maps of Africa, India and Indonesia, was published in Venice under the title Navigationi & Viaggi (Journeys & Navigations). The person who had edited this remarkable collection of travelogues, journals, and classified government reports was unknown. Two more volumes delivered the most accurate information on Asia and the "New" World that was available. The three volumes together constituted an unparalleled release of geographical data into the public domain. It was, Andrea di Robilant writes, the biggest Wikileak of the Renaissance. In Orb, di Robilant brings to life the palace intrigues, editorial wheedling, delicate alliances, and vibrant curiosity that resulted in this coup by the editor G. B. Ramusio. Learned and self-effacing, he gathered a diverse array of both popular and closely guarded narratives-from the journals of Marco Polo (he fact-checked them!) to detailed reports on Northern African cultures from Hasan ibn Mohammad al-Wazzan of Andalusia; diverse voices spill out from these chapters as di Robilant recounts how Ramusio pursued them, and how he understood both the darker episodes of "exploration," which included colonial violence, and the voices of people from African and Asian lands, who had a great deal to share about their cultures. The result is a far-flung and delightful homage to one of the founding fathers of book publishing"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The education of a geographer

Pigafetta's diary

Cadamosto

African masterpiece

Meeting Prester John

Indian journeys

A peek across the Atlantic

In the Land of Biru

The return of Marco Polo

Stealing time from time

Post script.

Notes:

"This is a Borzoi book." -- title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Di Robilant, Andrea, 1957- This earthly globe

ISBN:

9780307597076

0307597075

9780307743848

0307743845

OCLC:

1400014190

Publisher Number:

99996631451