Battista Agnese (c. 1500 – 1564) was a

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

from the Republic of Genoa, who worked in the Venetian Republic. In 1525 he prepared an early map of

Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domest ...

that was based on the geographical data, narrated to Paolo Giovio by the Russian ambassador Dmitry Gerasimov. His workshop produced at least 71 manuscript atlases of sea charts between 1534 and 1564, more cheaply than Dieppe maps but still considered of fine craftsmanship. The charts normally included latitude but not longitude, along with various decorative features. One of Agnese's best-known works is an atlas of the world commissioned by Charles V for his son, Philip II. Apparently produced around 1542, it depicts Baja California correctly as a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

(60 years later cartographers started to show California as an island). Agnese liked to incorporate the new geographical discoveries in his maps. For example, he included in his world map the route of the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan, and the route to Peru via the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...

, where a lot of the Spanish gold was found.

References

*Levenson, Jay A. ''Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration''. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1993. *

Short, John Rennie John Rennie Short is a professor of geography and public policy in the School of Public Policy at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Early life and education Short was born in Stirling, Scotland. He was raised in nearby Tullibody, a vill ...

. ''The World Through Maps: A History of Cartography''. Toronto: Firefly Books, 2003.
Library of Congress
Agnese Atlas. Portolan atlas of 9 charts and a world map, etc. Dedicated to Hieronymus Ruffault, Abbot of St. Vaast. (1544)
Atlas de Battista Agnese
1544, digitized in Biblioteca Digital Hispánica, Biblioteca Nacional de España * John Carter Brown Library
digitized images
from the Atlas of Portolan Charts. {{DEFAULTSORT:Agnese, Battista 16th-century Italian cartographers 1500s births 1564 deaths Year of birth uncertain 16th-century Genoese people