The glorious Fra Mauro Mappamundi was created between 1458 and 1459 by the Venetian monk/cartographer/sailor/explorer/adventurer Fra Mauro. The map was commissioned by Portugal’s King Alfonso V and produced at the Camaldolese Monastery of Saint Michael on the Venetian lagoon island of Murano.

Drawn on parchment, the surprisingly accurate Mappamundi is a circular world map designed with South up and North down. Only two copies of the maps are known to have survived. One can be found in the Vatican Library and the other is in a private cartography collection in France.

The story of the Mappamundi and Fra Mauro has been immortalized in an entertaining historical novel by James Cowan. A Mapmaker’s Dream is a marvelous adventure yarn that is more about travel than cartography.

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• Photo: Venice, Italy As Seen From Space | SpaceRef – Your Space Reference (mbcalyn.wordpress.com)