The Cartography of Crete in the 17th

8/18/2019 The Cartography of Crete in the 17th

1/28

Heleni Porfyr iou

The Cartography of Crete in the First Half

of the 17

th

Century:

a Collective Work of a Generation of Engineers

Abstract

In 1982 Elisabeth Clutton

1

wrote a very interesting article pointing out the

major phases of the historical cartography of Crete (Fig. 1) and the fact that

the 17

th

centu ry cartography of the island was indeb ted to Francesco

Basilicata s manuscript map of l 6 l2 (Fig. 2). In particul ar Clutton examined

and compared thoroughly the map of Basilicata with that of Marco Boschini

(Fig. 3), whose publication in 1651 strongly influenced the mainstream

cartography of the area -both in Italy and abroad- suggesting that the latter

was no mor e than a copy of Basilicata s work.

The aim of this paper is to throw new light on this process of transition

of information from authors with first hand experience of the area to

others. The ultimate goal is to suggest that the cartography of Crete in the

first half of the 17

th

century was not the work of a single autho r (however

rema rkab le this may have been , as was the case with Basilicata s map of

Crete) ,

but the outcome of the work of a whole generation of engineers,

keen to satisfy the Venetian Republic s thirst for informati on.

HISTORICAL

OUTLINE

Crete and the Greek archipelago were the focal point of the

geographical representation of the West up to the modern era.

Crete or Candia, as a territory of the Venetian Republic since

1204,

had largely benefited from the introduction of print and

the cartographical work of the famous Venetian editors in the

16

th

century. But in the 17

th

century, the rich iconographie and

cartographic documentation, which will be discussed in this

paper, was mainly due to the fact that Crete represented, for the

Venetian Republic and the Christian world in general, the

ultimate bulwark against Turkish threat.

The military importance that Crete assumed during this

Institute for Neohellenic Research N.H.R.F.

Eastern Mediterranean Cartographies

Tetradia Ergasias 25/26 (2004) p. 65-92


2/28

HELENI PORFYRIOU

VARIOUS AUTHORS 1511-1610

F.

BASIL ICATA 161 2-1 629

ACTUAL

f ig . l :

Elizabeth

Clutton, The shape

of Crete: a selection

of outlines. From E.

Clutton, Some

Seventeenth Century

Images of Crete: a

comparative analysis

of the manu script

maps of Francesco

Basilicata and the

printed maps by

Marco Boschini,

Imago Mundi 34

(1982):

52.

fig. 2:

Francesco Basilicata,

Cretae

Regnum,

in

Pervenisti atque nobilissimi

creteiìsis regln urbes, arœs,

oppida..., l6l8-9- Venezia,

Biblioteca Museo Correr

(Jrom now onwards BMC),

M S Portolano n. 4,1.

M,


3/28

THE CARTOGRAPHY OF CRETE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY

1 MARE MEDITEKANEO W S OVERO DJ BARBARIA .

fig.

3 :

Marco Boschini, Il Regno di Cand ia, in II Regno tutto di Cand ia...,

Venezia l651. BM C, E 1209, tav. 2.

period was evident from the massive fort if ications al l over the

island, such as the new fortresses of the ci t ies of Candia and

Canea ini t iated in the 1540's , but not completed unti l the late

1570's , the works for the fortresses of the small is land of Suda

in 1572, of the ci ty of Rett imo and of Paleocastro in 1573, the

two simple fortresses on the rock of S. Todhero in 1574, as well

as the fort if ications of the small rocky islands of Spinalonga in

1578 and Grabusa in 1579.

2

Crete rep rese nte d the major ne rve [...] of the force and

reputa t ion

3

of al l the Christ ian world, as Luca Michiel recorded

in his report of 1580 as General Purveyor of the is land. And this

was eviden t no t only in the extens ive for t if icat ion un der tak en

by Venice, but also in a series of descriptive works of the

defens ive s tate of the i s land accompanied by maps , plans and

perspect ive , or bi rd 's -eye , views of the major ci t ies and

fortresses. These collections, forming small at lases, designed

and e laborated by engineers sent in loco by the Republ ic in

order to fol low the fort if ication of the is land, or by noblemen,

belonging to the Venet ian governor 's sui te , were the outcome of

a detai led and profound knowledge of the Cretan ter r i tory.

The f i rs t document we have of this kind comprises only a

w ri t ten text e loquen t ly ent i t led: Desc r ipt ion of the w ho le

67


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H E L E N I P O R F Y R I O U

i s l a nd o f C a nd ia , o f a l l i t s p r inc ipa l c i t i e s , c a s t l e s , v i l l a s ,

m o u n t a i n s , r i v e r s a n d o f o t h e r i m p o r t a n t t h i n g s , a s w e l l a s t h e

n u m b e r a n d q u a l i t y o f i t s f o r t r e s s e s , h o w i t c a n b e a t t a c k e d b y

t h e T u r k s , a n d h o w i t c a n b e d e f e n d e d , t h e d a n g e r o u s p o i n t s ,

t h e f o r c e s a n d u t i l i t i e s t h a t V e n i c e r e c e i v e s f r o m a n d o t h e r

s p e c i f i c a s p e c t s o f t h e m o m e n t , w r i t t e n b y a V e n e t i a n

n o b l e m a n ; t h a t i s L e o n a r d o Q u e r i n i i n 1 5 8 3 .

4

B y th e e nd o f t h e 1 6

t h

c e n t u r y , h o w e v e r , C r e t e w a s g r e a t l y

t r a n s f o r m e d . A n e w t o w n s c a p e w a s c r e a t e d - f o r t if i e d a n d

e q u i p p e d w i t h s h i p y a r d s , a q u e d u c t s , n e w p o r t s , w a r e h o u s e s ,

m u n i t i o n d e p o s i t s , m i l i t a r y q u a r t e r s a n d h o s p i t a l s - w h i l e t h e

l a n d s c a p e w a s e n r i c h e d b y t h e p r e s e n c e o f n e w f o r t r e s s e s a n d

r e s t o r e d c a s t l e s . I t w a s p r e c i s e l y t h i s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f t h e b u i l t

a n d n a t u r a l e n v i r o n m e n t t h a t t h e 1 7

t h

c e n t u r y t o p o g r a p h i c a l

a t l a s e s r e g i s t e r e d .

T h e f i r s t t o a pp e a r in l 6 0 1 w a s a c o l l e c t i on o f 2 4 ve r y f ine

i n k d r a w i n g s b y A n g e l o d e g l i O d d i , e n t i t l e d C i t i e s , f o r t r e s s e s ,

h a r b o r s , n a t u r a l p o r t s a n d b e a c h e s o f t h e K i n g d o m o f C a n d i a .

5

T h e n c a m e t h e t h r e e d i f f e r e n t m a n u s c r i p t a t l a s e s o f F r a n c e s c o

B a s i l i c a t a c o m p r i s i n g t h e f i r s t ( o f l 6 l 2 ) : 5 2 t a b l e s o f d e s i g n s

a c c o m p a n i e d b y a b r i e f d e s c r i p t i v e t ex t a n d a m a p ; t h e s e c o n d

( o f 1 6 1 8- 1 9) : 4 3 t a b le s a nd a m a p ; a nd th e th i r d ( o f 1 6 2 9- 30 ) : a

t e x t e n t i t l e d R e p o r t o f a ll t h e K i n g d o m o f C a n d i a a c c o m p a n i e d

on ly by a m a p o f t h e i s l a nd .

6

D u r i n g t h e s a m e p e r i o d a n u m b e r

o f c o l l e c t ions sa w th e l i gh t : E r c o le N a n i ' s c o l l e c t ion o f 2 3

d r a w i n g s a n d a m a p i n l 6 l 3 , e n t i t l e d F o r t r e s s e s , b e a c h e s a n d

h a r b o r s o f t h e K i n g d o m o f C a n d i a ;

7

G i o r g i o C o r n e r ' s c o l l e c t i o n

o f 3 1 p l a t e s a n d a m a p i n 1 6 2 5 , e n t i t l e d T h e K i n g d o m o f

C a n d i a ;

8

a nd f ina l ly in I 6 3 I t h e c o l l e c t ion o f R a f f a e l lo M ona nn i ,

i n a d i a r y f o r m , w i t h 7 1 s m a l l w a t e r - c o l o u r s i l l u s t r a t i n g a

d e s c r i p t i v e t e x t e n t i t l e d T o p o g r a p h i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n o f C a n d i a .

9

A l l o f t h e s e s m a l l a t l a s e s w e r e d e d i c a t e d t o V e n e t i a n n o b l e m e n ,

w h o A v e r e o f t e n g o v e r n o r s o f t h e i s l a n d a n d w h o p r o b a b l y h a d

e x p l i c i t l y a s k e d t h e a u t h o r s t o u n d e r t a k e t h i s k i n d o f w o r k f o r

th e m , a s a t l e a s t w a s th e c a se w i th M ona nn i , w h o a f f i r m s in h i s

d e d i c a t i o n t h a t h e w a s c o m m i s s i o n e d t o o b s e r v e a ll t h e p l a c e s .

D i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e s e m a n u s c r i p t w o r k s w a s , i n s t e a d , t h e

6 8


5/28

T H E C A R T O G R A P H Y O F C R E T E I N T H E F I R S T H A L F O F T H E 1 7

t h

C E N T U R Y

fig. 4:

Marco Boschini, L'isola di Candia con il leone marciano, in II Regno tutto

di Candia..., Venezia 1651. BM C, E 1209, tav. 1.

p u b l i c a t i o n o f 1 6 5 1 e n t i t l e d A l l t h e K i n g d o m o f C a n d i a

o u t l i n e d a n d e n g r a v e d b y M a r c o B o s c h i n i .

1 0

T h i s b o o k

d e d i c a t e d t o t h e S e r e n e H i g h n e s s t h e P r i n c e a n d R e g a l C o l l e g e

o f V e n i c e , a n d c o m p r i s i n g 5 9 p l a t e s of l a n d s c a p e v i e w s , c it y

p l a n s a n d t w o m a p s o f t h e i s l a n d ( i n o n e o f w h i c h S t . M a r c ' s

w i n g e d l i o n h o l d i n g a s w o r d w a s o v e r h a n g i n g t h e i s l a n d ) , w a s

p u b l i s h e d w h e n t h e c i t y o f C a n d i a w a s a l r e a d y u n d e r s i e g e f o r

f o u r y e a r s a n d w a s t o r e m a i n s o f o r 1 8 y e a r s m o r e ( F i g . 4 ) .

B osc h in i w r o te in t h e de d ic a t ion : I , M a r c o B osc h in i , in 1 6 4 5

h a ve p r e se n te d th e e ngr a v ing o f your nob le k ingdom o f C a nd ia th a t

69


6/28


you defend aga ins t the Turks [ . . . ] Now having cont inued my

fa t igues to engrave i t f rom one ext reme to the o ther , whi le your

S e r e n i ty c on t inue s to de f e nd i t , a lone , a dm i r e d by th e w h o le w or ld ,

a ga ins t t h e va s t O t tom a n pow e r . I r e tu r n , m or e th a n e ve r be f o r e ,

rev ere nt a t you r Serene High nes s ' f eet and I pr ese nt i t f in ished .

1 1

I t w a s t h e p e r f e c t m o m e n t , c o m m e n t s i r o n i c a l l y E l i s ab e t h

C l u t t o n , f o r a p a t r i o t i c V e n e t i a n t o a f f i r m t h e g r e a t n e s s of

V e n i c e i n h e r s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t ' l a p o t e n z a v a s t i s s i m a O t t o m a n a '

a n d , a t t h e s a m e t i m e , t o l a u n c h a m o n e y - m a k i n g v e n t u r e b y

p u b l i s h i n g a v o l u m e c o n t a i n i n g m a p s , p l a n s a n d d r a w i n g s of

C r e t e .

1 2

A n d B o s c h i n i ' s m a p v e r y i m p o r t a n t f o r i ts p r e c i s e

m o r p h o l o g y , a cc u r a te h o r o g r a p h y a n d a b u n d a n t p l a c e - n a m e s

1 3

w a s i n d e e d t o h a v e a g r e a t i n f l u e n c e o n t h e m a i n s t r e a m I t a l ia n

a n d f o r e i g n c a r t o g r a p h y o f C r e t e .

Y e t t h e m a p s o f t h e i s l a n d t h a t B o s c h i n i e n g r a v e d i n

d i f f e r e n t o c c a s i o n s i n 1 6 4 5 , i n 1 6 5 1 a n d fo r h i s

Isolarlo

14

i n

1 6 5 8 ( v e r y s i m i l a r ) w e r e n o t b a s e d o n a s u r v e y m a d e b y t h e

a u t h o r s i n c e h e h a d n ' t e v e r v i s i t e d C r e t e . T h e y w e r e , t h e r e f o r e ,

d e r i v e d f r o m t h e w o r k of o t h e r a u t h o r s . C l u t t o n s u g g e s t s t h a t

t h e y w e r e p l a g i a r i z e d f r o m t h e w o r k o f F r a n c e s c o B a s i l i c a t a .

1 5

S h e b a s e s h e r a f f i r m a t i o n o n a c a r e f u l c o m p a r a t i v e s t u d y of

t h r e e m a i n a s p e c t s o f B a s i l i c a t a a n d B o s c h i n i ' s m a p s : t h e s h a p e

o f t h e o u t l i n e , t h e c o a s t a l p l a c e - n a m e s a n d t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f

t o p o g r a p h y .

1 6

W e k n o w , h o w e v e r , t h a t i n a d d i t i o n t o B a s i l i c a t a ,

E r c o l e N a n i a n d G i o r g i o C o r n e r h a d a l s o d r a w n m a p s o f t h e

i s l a n d b a s e d o n t h e i r o w n k n o w l e d g e o f t h e p l a c e . I n p a r t i c u l a r

C o r n e r ' s m a p ( 1 6 2 5 ) (F i g . 5 ) w i t h t h e S o u t h f a c i n g u p s e e m s

e v e n m o r e s i m i l a r t o B o s c h i n i ' s ( 1 6 5 1 ) , s p e c i f i c a l l y r e g a r d i n g

t h e c o a s t l i n e f r o m S u d a t o C a n d i a , t h a n t o B a s i l i c a t a ' s ( l 6 l 9 ) .

W h a t ' s m o r e , w e k n o w t h a t t h e f i r s t c o l l e c t i o n w i t h p e r s p e c t i v e

d r a w i n g s v e r y s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o f B o s c h i n i w a s b y t h e e n g i n e e r

A n g e l o d e g l i O d d i , w h o s e e x a m p l e w a s p r o b a b l y f o l l o w e d b y

B a s i l i c a ta himself.

70


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THE CARTOGRAPHY

OF

CRETE

IN

THE FIR ST HA LF

OF

T HE

17

t h

CENTURY

m

'âm ĵ̂ fcmmw m

£ * * / ^

•τ τ

Jf l

^

ψ

\

fig 5: Giorgio Corner, Regno di Candia, in II Regno di Candia, 1Ó25. Biblioteca

Nazionale Marciana, Venezia (from now onwards BMV) MS. it. VI, 75 (=8303).

Ρ

A L L O C A S T R O D I C A N D I A

il

mm

fig

6:

Angelo degli

Oddi, Paleocastro

Candia, in Città,

fortezze, porti,

redotti..., 1Ó01.

BMV, MS. it. IV 1

(=5001), tav. 23.

71


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HELENI PORFYRIOU

fig. 7: Francesco

Basilicata, Fortezza di

Paleocastro, in

Pervetusti atque

nobilissimi cretensis

regni urbes, arces,

oppida..., 1618-9- BM C,

MS. Portolano n. 4, V.

fig.

8:

Marco

Boschini, Paleocastro,

in II Regno tutto di

Candia..., Venezia 1Ó51.

BMC, E 1209, tav. 22.

S&:.j.ii±::^L· · . , ̂ i .

72


9/28


t h

C E N T U R Y

i i

ïm^m^mmmm

fig. 9:

Giorgio Co rner, Paleocastro, in II Regno d i Candia, 1Ó25.

BMV, MS. it. VI, 75 (= 8303).

Λ5


10/28

HELENI PORFYRIOU

10:

Angelo degli Oddi, Fortezza della Suda, in Città, fortezze, porti, redot

ti..., l601. BM V, MS. it. IV, 1 (=506l), tav. 11.

f ig . 11:

Francesco Basilicata, Scoglio et fortezza della Suda, in Pervetusti

atque nobilissimi cretensis regni urbes, arces, oppida..., 1Ó18-9- BM C,

MS. Portolano n. 4,

XIII.

.


11/28

T H E C A R T O G R A P H Y O F C R E T E I N T H E F I R S T H A L F O F T H E 1 7 T H C E N T U R Y

fig. 12:

Angelo degli Oddi, Golfo e porto della Suda, in Città, fortezze,

porti, redotti..., l601. B MV, MS. it. IV, 1 (=506l), tav. 1}.

REVIEW OF CITY AND FORTRESS DRAWINGS AND PLANS

A b r i e f c o m p a r a t i v e o v e r v i e w o f s o m e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t

l a n d s c a p e d r a w i n g s a n d c i t y p l a n s o f t h e s e V e n e t i a n e n g i n e e r s

a n d n o b l e m e n w i l l b e t t e r i l lu s t r a t e th i s p o i n t a n d w i l l a l l o w u s

t o a p p r e c i a t e b e t t e r t h e r o l e p l a y e d b y B a s i l i c a t a i n t h e h i s t o r y

o f C r e t a n c a r t o g r a p h y .

S t a r t i n g f r o m t h e d e s i g n s f o r t h e f o r t r e s s e s o f G r a b u s a a n d o f

S. T o d h e r o b y O d d i , B a s i l i c at a a n d B o s c h i n i t h e s i m i l a r i t i e s a r e

s o e v i d e n t t h a t a n y c o m m e n t o n t h e i r p a t e r n i t y i s r e d u n d a n t .

T h e v ie w s o f P a le oc a s t r o by O dd i ( F ig . 6 ) a nd B a s i l i c a ta ( F ig . 7 )

a l s o l o o k v e r y m u c h a l i k e , w h i l e B o s c h i n i ( F i g . 8 ) t a k e s f r o m

B a s i l i c a ta o r f r om C or ne r ( F ig . 9 ) c e r t a in de ta i l s , suc h a s t h e

w e l l s a n d t h e f u r n a c e .

I n th e v i e w s o f S uda by O dd i ( F ig . 1 0 ) a nd B a s i l i c a ta ( F ig .

11) , o n c e a g a i n v e r y s i m i l a r , e v e n t h e i n d i c a t i o n p a r t i n s i d e t h e

h a r b o r o r o u t s i d e t h e h a r b o r i s r e p e a t e d i n b o t h p l a t e s . T h i s

i s v e r y i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e o r i e n t a t i o n , a s t h e g e n e r a l v i e w s o f

S u d a b y O d d i ( F i g . 1 2 ) a n d B a s i l i c a t a s h o w u s , b e c a u s e t h e

75


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HELENI PORFYRIOU

s^^^^&^^^^^^^^^isgä^s^^^^^^^s^^^^i i^^

fig.

13 :

Marco Boschini, Fortezza della Suda, in II Regno tutto di Cand ia...,

Venezia 1651. BMC, E 1209, tav. 9-

fig.

14 :

Giorgio Corner,

Fortezza della Suda, in

Il Regno di Candia, 1Ó25.

BMV, MS. it. VI, 75

(=8303).

(


13/28


t h

C E N T U R Y

fig.

15:

Raffaele Mon anni, Suda, in Descrizione topografica di Cand ia,

I63I.

BMV, MS. it. VII, 889 (=7798), p. 319-

fort if ied rock is s i tuated at the opening of Suda bay, in order to

defend the bay together wi th i t s sal inas , f rom the enemy.

Boschini 's plate of Suda (Fig. 13) is , instead, copied from

Corner 's design (Fig. 14) or even Monanni 's drawing (Fig. 15).

I t looks mo re l ike a bi rd 's -ey e view th an a plan of the for t ress

l ike Oddi 's and Basil icata's . It is interest ing to note that

Boschini copied everything f rom Corner , even cer tain detai l s

such as the South door perspect ive .

Plans , des igns and wri t ten repor ts were intended to of fer

detai led and accurate knowledge of the whole Cretan ter r i tory,

where for t resses , sal inas and wel ls are among the most

important and recurrent themes; no less , of course , than the

new townscape for t i f ied and equipped precise ly in those las t

fifty years of the 16

th

century. Let 's have a closer look then. First

of al l , the capital ci ty Candia. The essential quali ty of Oddi 's

view was so impressive that i t became a model for al l successive

representations of the ci ty. The fort if ications are the real

protagonists of this plate (Fig. l6) . Those of the 16

th

century

divide the

urbs

(wh ich is repre sen ted as a void) f rom the

77


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HELENI PORFYRIOU

fig.

16:

Angelo degli Oddi,

Città di Candia,

in Città,

fortezze, porti, redotti...,

I6OI.

BM V, MS. it. IV, 1 (=506l), tav. 19 .

fig. 17:

Francesco Basilicata,

Città di Cand ia, in Pervenisti

atque nobilissimi cretensis regni

urbes, arces, oppida..., 1618-19-

BM C, Portolano n. 4, II.

i

78


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THE CARTOGRAPHY OF CRETE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 17

t h

CENTURY

fig. 18:

E. Nani, Città

di Cand ia, in

Fortezze, spiaggie e

porti del Regno di

Candia, l6l3- BMV,

MS. it. IV, 1

7

(=5064)

c. 25.

fig.

19 :

Marco

Boschini, Città di

Candia assediata, in II

Regno tutto di

Candia..., Venezia

1651.

BMC, E 1209-

79


16/28

HELENI PORFYRIOU

fig. 20:

Marco Boschini, Città di Cand ia, in II Regno tutto di Cand ia...,

Venezia l651. BMC , E 1209, tav. 23-

countryside that is cult ivated but also inhabited by small vi l lages

(l ike Marulà). Those of the medieval period (re-uti l ized as

warehouses , muni t ion deposi ts and shops) character ized by the

voltone,

17

subdivide the bui l t -up area dis t inct ly into two par ts ,

the old ci ty and the ci ty of Can dia. In this clearly dep icted

spat ial h ierarchy, due to the pr imary mi l i tary interes ts of the

plate , the only other urban e lements represented are the

shipyards (19 the number as Nani informs us) of evident

mi l i t a ry impor tance .

Oddi is not the f irst to depict Candia in this way. Almost

thi r ty years ear l ier ( in 1567 and in 1573) another engineer ,

Domenico de Ross i ,

18

on reques t of the Venet ian governors , as

always, had produced a similar view of the ci ty. Yet, Oddi 's

plate definitely codif ies these previous at tempts, that have

remained as loose sheets . Basil icata (Fig. 17) didn' t modify

anything f rom Oddi ' s view. Palms, windmil ls , wel ls , a l l the

detai ls are repeated unchanged from Nani (Fig. 18) up to

Boschini . In his view of the ci ty under siege, Boschini (Fig. 19)

respects the mi l i tary pr ior i t ies of Oddi ' s representat ion; but in

his pla te The City of Can dia (Fig. 20) his interest turn s to the

urban conf igurat ion of the bui l t -up area, which of course

80


17/28


t h

C E N T U R Y

f ig . 21:

Giorgio Corner, Città di Cand ia, in II Regno di Cand ia, 1Ó 25. BM V, MS.

it. VI, 75 (=8303).

cont inues to be character ized by the voltone and the

warehouses. His view, is in fact extremely similar to that of

Corner (Fig. 21).

Oddi reserves the same iconographie t reatment appl ied to

Candia also to Canea (Fig. 22), the second largest city of Crete.

The 16

th

century ci ty wal ls and moat , together wi th the medieval

fort if ied hi l l , reassume the character of the ci ty

19

. The only

other urban e lements represented are the shipyards (15 old and

4 new ones ini t iated by Benedet to Moro at whose sui te Oddi i s

operat ing) an aqueduct (const ructed once again by the general

Purveyor Moro) and a column wi th the winged l ion of St .

Marc's , next to the quay.

Only one year later , another engineer , Emanuel le Mormori

2 0

designs a very s imi lar view of Canea to Oddi ' s wi th the addi t ion

of three churches. Basil icata's plate (Fig. 23) seems to copy

exact ly Mormori ' s . Fur thermore , in his view of

l 6 l 3 ,

Nani adds

al l the bui ldings ins ide the medieval wal ls , represent ing them in

great detai l , and indicates also the fountains of the ci ty.

81


18/28

HELENI PORFYRIOU

fig.

22 :

Angelo degli Oddi, Città della Canea , in Città, fortezze, porti, redotti.

l601.

BM V, MS. it. IV, 1 (=506l), tav. 8.

fig.

2 3 :

Francesco B asilicata, Città de la Canea, in Pervenisti atque nobilissimi

cretensis regni urbes, arces, oppida..., l6l8-9- BM C, Portolano n. 4, XIV.

MktfZM^;^^


19/28


t h

CENTURY

fig. 24:

Marco

Boschini,

Pianta della

Canea, in II

Regno tutto di

Candia...,

Venezia 1651.

BMC, E 1209,

tav. 6.

Monanni fol lows up the example of Oddi, while Boschini (Fig.

24) moves away f rom this s tyl ized image int roduced by Oddi ,

prod ucin g a view of the ci ty, f rom the hinte r lan d towa rds th e

sea, that points out the street network and the big civic and

rel igious bui ldings rather than the old and new for t i f icat ions

works. But even in this case his plate is extremely similar to

Corner 's design (Fig. 25).

f ig. 25:

Giorgio C orner, Cita della Canea, in II Regno di Candia, 1Ó25. BMV,

MS. it. VI, 75 (=8303).

8 3

- - --Rì

A N T A ; . : ?D E L L Ä V- - C A N E A :


20/28

HELENI PORFYRIOU

f ig. 26:

Angelo degli Oddi, Città di Rettimo, in Città, fortezze, porti, redotti...,

I6OI.

BM V, MS. it. IV, 1 (=506l), tav. 17 .

The representat ion of Ret t imo by Oddi (Fig. 26) shows once

more the same des ign at t i tude: the ci ty empty of any urban

8 4


21/28


t h

C E N T U R Y

f i g . 27 :

France sco Ba silicata, Città

e

fortezza di Rettimo, in Perven isti

a r q u e

nobilissi

mi cretensis regni urbes, arces, oppida..., 1Ó18-9- BMC, MS. Portolano n. 4, IX.

element apar t f rom the for t ress , i s dis t inguished f rom the

countryside and the vil lage by i ts 16

th

century fort if ications. The

view of Basil icata (Fig. 27), on the other hand, al though based

on the same planimetrie system, designs the buil t-up area in al l

i ts detai l : s treets , squares, houses, while the civic and rel igious

bui ldings are pointed out by the i r roofs painted red.

2 1

Monanni ' s drawing is also very innovat ive (Fig. 28) . He

in t roduces a new more v iv id wi th more evident th ree -

dimensional ef fect perspect ive view of the ci ty, h ighl ighted by

a small human f igure seen from the back. Finally, Boschini (Fig.

29) copies Corner , who had des igned the ci ty f rom the

hinter land towards the sea (Fig. 30) .

The views of the last of the four bigger Cretan cities, Sittia

(Fig. 31), are very similar and are the most picturesque. All the

authors (Oddi , Bas i l icata, Corner , Monanni and Boschini )

represent , in a somewhat detai led manner , the cas t le wi th the

village next to it;

22

this last omitted only by Boschini .

85


22/28

HELENI PORFYRIOU

(ft

esce

» . j m

• ί

{

efe

••—"

^^f V;/ . .

.''...

JiC

..ft.

J O i

fig.

28: Raffaele Monanni, Rettimo, in Descrizione

topografica

di Candia, I63I.

BMV, MS. it. VII, 889 (=7798), p. 251.

fig 29: Marco Boschini, Fortezza di Rettimo, in II Regno tutto di Candia.

Venezia 1651. BMC, E 1209, tav. 14.

86


23/28


t h

CENTURY

fig.

30 :

Giorgio C orner, Città di Rettimo, in II Regno di Cand ia, 1Ó25. BM V,

MS. it. VI. 75 (=8303).

fig.

3 1 :

Raffaele Monanni, Città di Sittia, in Descrizione topografica di Candia,

1631.

BMV, MS. it. VII, 889 (=7798), 11.

87


24/28


CONCLUDING REMARKS

A f t e r t h i s b r i e f c o m p a r a t i v e r e v i e w , i t s e e m s r e a s o n a b l e t o d r a w

t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n c l u s i o n s . F i r s t , O d d i w a s t h e f o u n d e r o f t h i s

n e w t y p e o f s m a l l a t l a s e s f o r C r e t e a n d h i s v i e w s t y p i f i e d t h e

i c o n o g r a p h i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e i s l a n d f o r m o r e t h a n f i f t y

y e a r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y w h e n m i l i t a r y c o n c e r n s b e c a m e m o r e

i m p o r t a n t t h a n o t h e r k i n d o f r e q u i r e m e n t s ( a s i n t h e c a s e o f

C a n d i a o r C a n e a r a t h e r t h a n o f R e t t i m o a n d S i t t i a ) . S e c o n d ,

B o s c h i n i ' s p u b l i c a t i o n o n t h e w h o l e s e e m s t o b e m o r e i n d e b t e d

t o C o r n e r ' s p l a n s a n d d e s i g n s t h a n t o B a s i l i c a t a ' s w o r k . A n d

t h i r d , t h e r e w a s a w i d e s p r e a d n e e d i n 1 7

t h

c e n t u r y C r e t e

( p r o b a b l y d u e t o t h e T u r k i s h t h r e a t ) f o r b e t t e r i n f o r m a t i o n , a s

8 8


25/28


t h

C E N T U R Y

fig. 32-33:

Vicenzo C oronelli, Cand ia occidentale e Cand ia orientale, Isola e

Regno di Cand ia diviso ne suoi territori), in Corso Geografico Universale, Venezia

1692, ce. 77-78. Rom a, Biblioteca Casan atense, BB. I. 34. By permission of the

Ministry o f Cultural Heritage.

expressed by the Venet ian Purveyors . Such a thi rs t for

knowledge was sat i s f ied through the informat ion offered in this

case by the engineers and noblemen working in the i r sui te .

After all, as D on atella Calabi pu t it th e inf or m ati on is abo ve all

a tool for governing,

2 3

which becomes even more prec ious , i t

can be added, when one is confronted wi th a mi l i tary threat .

The Venetian cartography of Crete, in the f irst half of the 17

th

century, is not the work, therefore, of a s ingle author, but the

outcome of var ious over lapping contr ibut ions , a kind of

col lective w or k of a w ho le gen erat ion of engineers on the

89


26/28


p r e c i o u s m a t e r i a l m e t i c u l o u s l y c o l l e c t e d a n d c a r e fu l l y

r e p r e s e n t e d b y e a c h o n e o f t h e m .

B o s c h i n i m a d e t h e r e s u l t s o f t h i s c o l l e c t i v e m a n u s c r i p t w o r k

p u b l i c t h r o u g h h i s b o o k T h e w h o l e K i n g d o m o f C a n d i a . T h e

g r e a t c o s m o g r a p h e r o f t h e R e p u b l i c , f a t h e r V i n c e n z o C o r o n e l l i ,

w h o c o n c l u d e d w i t h h i s m a g n i f i c e n t w o r k t h e c a r t o g r a p h i c

h i s t o r y o f V e n e t i a n C a n d i a ( F i g s . 3 2 - 3 3 ) , w a s a l s o t o b e i n d e b t e d

t o B o s c h i n i .

2 4

H e l e n i P o r f y r i o u

CN R-Centro di studio sulle cause

di deperimento e sui metodi di

conservazione delle opere

d'arte, Roma

90


27/28


th

CENTURY

N O T E S

T h i s a r t i c l e d r a w s h e a v i l y

on the

w o r k p r e s e n t e d

at the

I n t e r n a t i o n a l

C o n f e r e n c e V e n e z i a e C r e t a . Se e HELENI PORFYRIOU, La c a r t o g r a f i a

v e n e z i a n a d e l l ' i s o l a

di

C r e t a ,

i n Venezia

e

Creta: atti

del

Convegno

internazionale

di

studi, Iraklion-Chania,

30

settembre

- 5

ottobre

1997, a

c u r a di G h e r a r d o O r t a l l i (V e n e z i a : I s t i t u t o V e n e t o di S c i e n z e , L e t t e r e e d

A r t i , 1 9 9 8 ) , 3 7 5 - 4 1 3 .

1. ELIZABETH CLUTTON,

S o m e S e v e n t e e n t h C e n t u r y I m a g e s of C r e t e : a

C o m p a r a t i v e A n a l y s i s of the M a n u s c r i p t M a p s of F r a n c e s c o B a s i l i c a t a and

t h e P r i n t e d M a p s by M a r c o B o s c h i n i ,

Imago Mundi

34 ( 1 9 8 2 ) : 4 8 - 6 5 .

2 .

GIUSEPPE GEROLA,

Mon umenti Veneti nell'isola

di

Creta

( V e n e z i a :

R.

I s t i t u t o V e n e t o di S c i e n z e , L e t t e r e e d A r t i , 1 9 0 5 - 1 9 3 D , 1.2: 4 7 2 - 6 3 9 ;

IOANNA

STERIOTOU,

Le

fortezze veneziane

di

Retimo: 1540-164 6

( V e n e z i a :

u n p u b l i s h e d PhD, I U A V , 1 9 8 2 ) ;

PAOLO MORACHIELLO,

C a n d i a . I b a l u a r d i del

R e g n o , i n

Venezia

e la

difesa

del

Levante:

da

Lepanto

a

Candia 1570-1670,

c u r a r e d a z i o n a l e M a d d a l e n a R e d o l i i ( V e n e z i a : A r s e n a l e , [1 9 8 6 ] ) , 1 3 3 - 4 3 ·

3 .

V e n e z i a , A r c h i v i o di S t a t o , C o l l e g i o , R e l a z i o n i , b. 78, R e l a z io n e di

L u c a M i c h i e l , 13 a g o s t o 1580, ff. 5 4 v - 5 5 r .

4 .

C i t t à

del

V a t i c a n o , B i b l i o t e c a A p o s t o l i c a V a t i c a n a ,

MS. Vat. lat.

9 4 4 5 .

5 . ANGELO DEGLI ODDI,

Città, fortezze, porti, redotti

et

spiaggie

del

Regno

di Candia,

l 6 0 1 ,

B i b l i o t e c a N a z i o n a l e M a r c i a n a , V e n e z i a ( f r o m

now

o n w a r d s BMV), MS. it. IV, 1 ( = 5 0 6 l ) ; GEROLA,

Monu menti Veneti,

1.1: 18,

4 5 - 6 ; DONATELLA CALABI, S c h e d e , i n

Venezia

e la

difesa

del

Levante:

da

Lepanto

a

Candia 1570-1670,

c u r a r e d a z i o n a l e

MADDALENA REDOLFI

( V e n e z i a :

A r s e n a l e , [ 1 9 8 6 ] ) , 1 2 4 - 5 .

6 .

FRANCESCO BASILICATA,

[MS

Atlas

of

Candia],

l 6 l 2 , L o n d o n , B r i t is h

L i b r a r y , MS. K. Top. C X I I I . 104, 6 tab . 6; ID. ,

Pervetusti atque nobilissimi

cretensis regni urbes, arces, oppida...,

1 6 1 8 - 9 , V e n e z i a , B i b l i o t e c a M u s e o

C o r r e r ( f r o m n o w o n w a r d s BMC), MS. P o r t o l a n o n. 4; ID.,

Relatione

di

tutto

il

Regno

di

Candia...,

1 6 2 9 - 3 0 , BMV, MS. It. VI I, 16 83 (= 8 9 7 6 ) ;

DONATELLA CALABI,

Le

cento città

d e l l ' a n t i c o e n o b i l i s s i m o r e g n o c r e t e s e ,

i n

FRANCESCO BASILICATA,

/ /

Regno

di

Candia,

a t l a n t e c o r o g r a f i c o

di

F r a n c e s c o B a s i l i c a t a l 6 l 8 , r i p r o d u z i o n e in f a c s i m i l e de l c o d i c e c o n s e r v a t o

a l M u s e o C o r r e r di V e n e z i a , c o m m e n t o di D o n a t e l l a C a l ab i ( V e n e z i a :

M a r s i l i o , 1 9 9 3 ) , w h i c h

is a ne w

e d i t i o n

of

Pervetusti).

7 .

E.

NANI, Fortezze spiaggie

e

porti

del

Regno

di

Candia, l 6 l 3 ,

BMV,

MS.

it. IV, 17 ( = 5 0 6 4 ) .

8. G I O R G I O C O R N E R , / / Regno di Candia, 1625, BMV, MS. it. VI, 75

( = 8 3 0 3 ) ;

GEROLA, Mon umenti Veneti,

1.1 : 19, 47- 8;

CALABI, Schede,

1 2 0 - 1 ;

91


28/28

HELENI PORFYRIOU

DONATELLA CALABI,

I l r e g n o d i C a n d i a e l e

fatiche

d e l g o v e r n o c i v i l e : l e

cento città,

l e p o p o l a z i o n i , l e f a b b r i c h e p u b b l i c h e , i n

Venezia e la difesa

del Levante: da Lepanto a Candia 1570-167 0.

9 . RAFFAELE MONANNI,

Descrizione topografica di Candia,

I 6 3 I , B M V , M S .

i t . V I I , 8 8 9 ( = 7 7 9 8 ) ;

GEROLA, Monumenti Veneti,

1 . 1 : 4 8 ;

CALABI, Schede,

Ilo.

10. MARCO BOSCHINI,

Il Regno tutto di Cand ia delineato a parte, a parte,

et intagliato da Marco Boschini venetiano al Serenissimo Prencipe et regal

Collegio di Venetia

( [ V e n e t i a ] , I 6 5 I ) ( B M C , E 1 2 0 9 ) ;

CALABI, Schede, I l o .

11 .

I b i d e m .

12. CLUTTON, Some Seventeenth...,

6 2 .

13. ANTONIO RATTI,

L e c a r t e g e o g r a f i s c h e d i C a n d i a d e l M u s e o c i v i c o

C o r r e r ,

Bollettino dei Musei Civici Veneziani

1 .4 ( 1 9 7 9 ) : 9 7 .

14. MARCO BOSCHINI,

L'Arcipelago con tutte le isole, scogli, secche e bassi

fondi, con i mari, golfi, seni, porti, città e castelli...

( I n V e n e t i a : p e r

F r a n c e s c o N i c o l i n i , 1 6 5 8 ) .

15. CLUTTON, Some Seventeenth...,

6 2 .

16 .

I b i d e m .

17. CALABI, Schede,

1 1 8 - 9 ; I D . , C i tt à e t e r r i t o r i o n e l D o m i n i o d a m a r , i n

Storia Di Venezia, 6: Dal Rinascimento al Barocco,

a c u r a d i G a e t a n o C o z z i

e P a o l o P r o d i ( R o m a : I s t i t u t o d e l l a E n c i c l o p e d i a I t a l i a n a , c a . 1 9 9 4 ) , 9 5 9 ·

18. GEROLA,

Mon umenti Veneti,

1 . 1 :

1 0 2 - 3 ;

CALABI,

Schede,

1 1 7 .

19. CALABI, Schede, 1 2 4 5 .

20. GEROLA,

Mon umenti Veneti,

1 . 1 : 1 5 7 .

2 1 .

CALABI,

Schede,

1 4 7 .

22. GEROLA,

Mon umenti Veneti,

1 . 1 : 3 2 ,

1 7 1 ;

CALABI, / /

regno di Cand ia,

103.

23. CALABI,

Città e territorio,

9 4 9 -

24. RATTI,

Le carte geografische,

9 9 - 1 0 0 .

92

Documents

The Cartography of Crete in the 17th