The oldest known map of the island of Ireland features in 600-year-old Italian atlas that’s set to sell for more than €3 million at auction next month.
The atlas was made in Venice by Italian navigator and cartographer (that’s a map maker, by the way) Grazioso Benincasa (c.1400-1482) back in 1468 and it’s the oldest known map to feature Ireland as a separate island away from the UK.
The main atlas, which also features the Canary Islands, Mauritania, West African Coast, Portugal, France, Spain and Great Britain, is set to sell for over €3 million in Christie’s when it goes on sale on November 17 in London.
Here’s what Christie’s had to say about the Irish map featured in the atlas: “the oldest known separate, individual map of the island, aptly bordered in bright green.
“Fifty-seven place-names are identified, including the name of the island ‘Irlanda que Ibernia dicitur’.
“With the offshore islands magnificently depicted in red, blue, green and gold and the multiple islands of Clew Bay represented and described as ‘Lacus fortunatus ubi sunt insule que dicuntur insule sancte beate ccclxvii’”.
Now, our grasp of Latin isn’t exactly top notch (or existent at all, for that matter), but according to Google Translate it means something along the lines of: “The island of the blessed Saints”.
You can check out more pics of the map over here, but just remember, Google Maps is fairly accurate these days and the app certainly doesn’t cost €3 million.
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