The De Virga World Map (circa 1411–1415) is one of the most intriguing artifacts in early European cartography. It is also under-appreciated in its historical context. The map was created at a pivotal moment. This was during the transition from medieval conceptual mapping to the navigationally driven charts of the Age of Discovery. It embodies both intellectual ambition and the limitations of its era.
The original disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the early 20th century. Yet, surviving descriptions and pre-loss photographs continue to inform scholars. They give insights about its construction, aesthetics, and place within the broader evolution of mapping. This post examines the De Virga world map in detail. It places the map in the context of medieval mappae mundi and portolan charts. The post reviews the author’s earlier Mediterranean chart of 1409 and recounts the map’s surprising 20th-century fate.
Introduction to the De Virga World Map
The De Virga world map was produced by Albertinus (or Albertin) de Virga. He was a Venetian cartographer active in the early 15th century. Little is known about his life. Yet, he is credited with two important works. One is a detailed portolan chart of the Mediterranean (1409). The other is this later world map, signed “A. 141.. Albertin diuirga me fecit in Vinexia” (“Made by Albertinus de Virga in Venice in 141..”), where the final digit of the year has been lost to a fold in the parchment.
The world map was a circular parchment drawing approximately 41 cm in diameter, mounted on a larger piece (about 69.6 × 44 cm) that also contained a calendar and two tables. There was one table for lunar phases. Another table was for computing the date of Easter. These features reflect an interest in astronomical cycles as well as geography.
The work was discovered only in the early 20th century. Viennese collector Albert Figdor located it in a second-hand bookstore in Šibenik, Croatia, in 1911. Professor Franz von Wieser at the University of Vienna supervised the authentication and photographing of the map. Those photographs remain the principal source of direct visual evidence for the map today.
Cartographic Context: Medieval Mappae Mundi
Understanding the significance of De Virga’s map requires appreciating the two dominant cartographic traditions. These traditions preceded it in Europe.
What Were Medieval Mappae Mundi?
Mappae mundi (Latin for “maps of the world”) were medieval European world maps. They depicted the known world, typically Europe, Asia, and Africa. These maps served primarily theological, historical, or didactic purposes rather than for navigation. These maps emphasized symbolic geography, biblical history, and mythographic accounts. They often placed Jerusalem at the center of the world. These maps included illustrations of biblical scenes. They also depicted legendary peoples and moral lessons.
Examples like the Hereford Mappa Mundi (circa 1300) and the lost Ebstorf Map show this approach. These maps were not tools for nautical travel. Instead, they were visual frameworks for understanding the cosmos and Christian history. Spatial relationships were subordinated to theological meaning.
Characteristics of Traditional Mappae Mundi
Common characteristics included:
- Symbolic geography over geographic precision: Regions were sized or shaped according to symbolic importance. Distances and relative positions were often inaccurate.
- Integration of myths and theology: Biblical narratives, moral exemplars, and legendary figures appeared alongside real places.
- Lack of navigational utility: These maps were not intended to guide sailors. Instead, they oriented viewers intellectually. They also provided spiritual orientation to the world.
Within this medieval framework, maps were instruments of interpretive worldview rather than empirical representation. The emphasis was on meaning rather than metric accuracy.
Portolan Charts: A Revolutionary Cartographic Genre
By contrast, portolan charts emerged in the Mediterranean during the late 13th and 14th centuries as practical aids for mariners. Derived from the Italian portolano (meaning “related to ports”), these charts emphasized coastal detail and sailing information, including:
- Highly accurate coastlines
- Rhumb lines or wind-rose networks to show compass directions
- Place names and harbor details essential to pilots
- Orientation based on navigational use rather than symbolic ordering
Unlike mappae mundi, portolan charts were instruments of navigation and commerce. They reflected the demands of Mediterranean trade networks and the empirical knowledge accumulated by sailors and coastal pilots. Their accuracy in representing shoreline contours was remarkable for the period, even if interior geography remained largely blank or schematic.
This duality, religious, symbolic mapping versus practical naval utility, defined the twin cartographic legacies of medieval Europe.
The Transitional Character of De Virga’s World Map
The De Virga world map occupies an intermediate position between these two traditions. It is not a purely symbolic mappa mundi, nor is it a straightforward nautical chart. Instead, it blends elements of both. This creates a hybrid artifact. It reflects the transitional intellectual and economic currents of early 15th-century Europe.
Visual and Structural Features
The map’s circular design echoes the form of medieval world maps, reinforcing its conceptual connection to the mappae mundi tradition. The De Virga world map shows the three continents: Europa, Africa, and Asia. They are arranged around a central wind rose. It includes a range of geographical and cosmographical features beyond simple coastline outlines.
- Orientation: The map is oriented northward. A central wind rose divides the map into eight sectors. This feature blends navigational concerns (compass winds) with traditional circular world representation.
- Color and Symbolism: The map uses color coding. It features white seas, with the Red Sea in red. There are yellow landmasses and colored islands. Brown mountains and blue lakes are also depicted. This is reminiscent of both symbolic and geographical mapping.
These aesthetic choices underscore that the map was a visual synthesis. It was intended to be read both as a world depiction and a reference document.
Geographic Knowledge and Accuracy
The De Virga world map does not approach the precision of later Renaissance charts. Nonetheless, its representation of certain regions is far more geographically informed than many mappae mundi. Coastal shapes and some island placements show an evolving empirical cartographic tradition. This tradition is influenced by trade routes and traveler reports. Reports come from Venetian maritime networks and even trans-Mediterranean exchanges.
For example:
- The outline of Africa’s western coast aligns more closely with its actual shape. This is more precise than would be expected in purely symbolic mappae mundi. This suggests portolan influence.
- Islands in the Atlantic, like the Canaries and the Azores, with recognizable forms. European knowledge of these islands was limited before the Age of Discovery.
Some interpretations of the map propose the existence of northwestern landmasses labeled “Norveca.” This refers to Norway or mythologized islands. These interpretations blend geographic knowledge with legend.
The Calendar and Astronomical Components
The inclusion of a calendar and lunar/Easter tables appended to the map further underscores its hybrid nature. These tables align with scholarly pursuits in astronomy and timekeeping, reflecting a broader intellectual ambit than a simple nautical tool.
Thus, the De Virga world map can be interpreted as a repository of geographical synthesis. It also serves as a compendium of cosmological and chronological knowledge.
Albertinus de Virga’s 1409 Mediterranean Portolan Chart
Before the world map, de Virga produced a 1409 portolan chart of the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and Atlantic coasts. This chart is one of his better documented works. It survives today in the collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.
Characteristics of the 1409 Chart
Like other portolan charts of its era, de Virga’s Mediterranean chart was designed for practical use:
- Detailed coastline delineation around the Mediterranean Basin
- Rhumb lines radiating from wind roses to help with navigation
- Place names marking ports, bays, and coastal features used by mariners
- Elegant ornamentation characteristic of early 15th-century Italian chartmaking
This map demonstrates de Virga’s command of the portolan tradition. It places him among the cadre of skilled Venetian maritime cartographers. Their work supported trade and navigation throughout the Mediterranean.
Relationship to the World Map
The contrast between the 1409 Mediterranean chart and the later world map highlights de Virga’s evolving cartographic ambitions:
- The 1409 chart is practical and utilitarian, rooted in measured knowledge of coasts and seaways.
- The world map is conceptual and synthetic, integrating geographic representation with cosmographical and calendrical systems.
In this respect, the two works mark the beginning and end of a critical moment in European mapping. Cartographers started integrating empirical knowledge from portolan charts into broader representations of the world.
The Disappearance of the De Virga World Map
One of the most compelling aspects of the De Virga world map’s story is its fate in the modern era.
Rediscovery and Early 20th-Century Scholarship
After its rediscovery by Albert Figdor in 1911, the map was authenticated, studied, and photographed. It entered scholarly awareness through the work of Franz von Wieser and later map historians. Despite its importance, it remained in private hands.
The 1932 Lucerne Auction
In June 1932, the map was consigned to an auction by the Swiss house H. Gilhofer & Ranschburg in Lucerne. It was listed as lot 56 among rare books and manuscripts from Russian collections. The reserve price was set at 9,000 Swiss francs.
Yet in the days before the sale, the map inexplicably disappeared from the catalog and was withdrawn from the auction. Various accounts suggest that the owner, Margarete Becker-Walz (Figdor’s niece and inheritor), pulled the item at the last moment. She might have done so due to advice from acquaintances. Alternatively, she could have hoped for a higher future sale price.
World War II and the Map’s Loss
Thereafter, the map’s trail grows murky. Becker-Walz and her family, identified as Jewish residents of Heidelberg, faced increasing persecution under the Nazi regime. According to some scholarly reconstructions, the map vanished alongside them in the late 1930s. It was likely confiscated, hidden, destroyed, or lost amid the chaos of wartime looting.
Despite ongoing searches, no verified sightings or recoveries have occurred since the 1932 withdrawal. The original has remained missing for nearly a century. Surviving photographs and scholarly descriptions are thus the only direct evidence of its appearance and content.
The Significance of the De Virga World Map
Although not as widely known as some of its successors (like the Fra Mauro map of 1457), the De Virga world map occupies a pivotal place in cartographic history for several reasons:
Synthesis of Traditions
It signifies a bridge between medieval cosmological cartography and empirical mapping. Its circular format and symbolic elements nod to the mappae mundi tradition. The use of wind roses and relatively precise geographical features reflects portolan influence.
This synthesis anticipates the more fully realized world maps of the mid- to late 15th century. These maps increasingly integrated navigational precision with broader world conceptions.
Evidence of Expanding Geographic Awareness
Recognizable outlines for distant regions and Atlantic islands are included. This was before European transatlantic voyages. This inclusion suggests that de Virga’s sources included travel reports. They also have included merchant knowledge. Additionally, they have involved cross-cultural exchanges common in Venetian trade networks.
Scholars caution against overstatement. Yet, the map stands as evidence of the expanding horizons of European geographic imagination. This was on the eve of the Age of Discovery.
Influence on Later Cartography
Direct influence is difficult to measure given the map’s early disappearance. Still, its similarities with later hybrid world maps imply participation in evolving cartographic norms. Contributions include a wind-rose centered world orientation. There is also a blending of geographic and cosmological information. These contributions align with broader shifts in European mapmaking.
Conclusion
The De Virga world map was crafted in Venice between 1411 and 1415. It remains one of the most compelling cartographic artifacts from the threshold of Renaissance mapping. And combines elements of the symbolic mappa mundi tradition. It also includes features drawn from the practical portolan chart lineage. This combination exemplifies a crucial moment of transition in European geographical thought.
De Virga’s 1409 Mediterranean portolan chart complements these works. They showcase the breadth of his engagement with both empirical and conceptual modes of representation. This is a testament to the demands of maritime commerce and the intellectual currents of early 15th-century Europe.
The map’s disappearance after its 1932 auction withdrawal in Lucerne under shadowy circumstances adds a dramatic coda to its history. The original has not been seen in public for nearly a century. Still, surviving photographs and scholarly reconstructions continue to inspire research. They also provoke debate and fascination among historians of cartography.
The De Virga map connects medieval symbolism with emerging geographic precision. It remains a symbol of cartography in flux. This map foreshadows the transformative developments that would soon reshape European conceptions of the globe.