Portolan atlas dedicated to Hieronymus Ruffault, abbot of Saint Vaast and Saint Adrian

Battista Agnese, one of the most significant cartographers of the Italian Renaissance, was born in Genoa. He worked in Venice from 1536 to 1564, and around 1544 produced this sumptuous atlas, hand-drawn on parchment. It was beautifully created using ink, quill, and watercolor, with silver and gold highlighting. The atlas reflects the most recent geographical knowledge of the period, which was mostly gleaned from the voyages of Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the first half of the 16th century. Just 50 years after Columbus' historical voyage in 1492, the updated information provided by these explorers rapidly changed the view that Europeans had of the world.

This is a reproduction of map 10 from the atlas. This oval-shaped world map follows the circumnavigation route of Magellan, and the routes of the galleon fleets, from Peru to Spain. They also traveled on land via the Isthmus of Panama. Blue and gold clouds frame the Mappa Mundi, with cherubs (or wind heads) symbolizing the classical names of the 12 compass winds, which gave rise to the modern cardinal directions.