Map of Ostia and Portus

Sebastian Munster, Cosmographia, 1564

A hand-coloured leaf from the Cosmographia by Sebastian Munster, published in 1564, German edition. Munster (1489-1552) was a German mathematician, cartographer, professor of Hebrew and, for a time, monk. He was the first mapmaker to produce separate maps of the four known continents and the first to publish a separate map of England. Munster's Cosmographia was one of the most influential works on geography in the 16th century. It was printed in five languages and published in 40 editions.

This 12" x 8.5" page shows Ostia, the port of Rome, as it appeared in the early Renaissance with massive fortifications and a very early view of artillery emplacements. An ancient galley is shown standing offshore. The Tiber River splitting into two branches at its delta is shown in the foreground.

The same leaf, uncoloured: