Shaping the European north and its mirabilia in Italian mural maps of the Late Renaissance

ABSTRACT

The cartographic image of the peripheral European north was vague in the European political and cultural centers of the Late Renaissance, where the ethos was flavored by ambitions of supremacy through exploration and the Counter-Reformation. Maps were practical and symbolic manifestations of those aims. The author discusses the cartographic image-shaping of the European north in the mural atlases of three Late Renaissance Italian galleries. The article’s iconographic scope is derived from the concept of the cycle of mural maps. Holistically interpreted, the cycles of maps reveal the muralists’ desire to satisfy their patron’s will by designing the space according to various cartographic skills and artistic principles. The mural atlases are interpreted as fundamental elements of such cycles. The study is based on personal observations made in the galleries along with existing literature. The map cycles reveal the impulse during the Later Renaissance for obtaining up-to-date geographical information about the European northern periphery. The study reveals Olaus Magnus’s important role in upgrading geographical knowledge about the region, and how in the mural maps reflect his cartographic perception. The author concludes that Olaus Magnus’s depiction of the geographical shape of the European north impacted the iconography of the studied map cycles.

KEYWORDS:

• cycle of mural maps
• European north
• Late Renaissance Italian galleries
• mural atlas
• Olaus Magnus

Acknowledgements

This study was completed with the support of Simo Örmä, curator of the Finnish Institute in Rome, who assisted me when contacting the Guardaroba nuova in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, the Sala del Mappamondo in the Palace or Villa Farnese in Caprarola, and the Terza loggia in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. I also thank other personnel at the Institute and the galleries for facilitating my research. Special thanks are owed to retired librarian Leena Miekkavaara for in-depth discussions. I also thank to William R. Mead and the Ulla Ehrensvärd (both deceased), who, decades ago, persuaded me to consult the early maps. Additionally, I thank Guest Editor Michael Jones for encouraging me to submit my article to Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift–Norwegian Journal of Geography.

Notes

1 Maps referred to in the text are listed in Appendix 1.

2 All potentates behind the map cycles were male (e.g., pope, cardinals, dukes).

3 The cartouche is worn, hence the name is unclear. Almagiá (1955, 22) spelt it “Scrifinnii” in his interpretation of the cartouche. Olaus Magnus (1555, Book I, Chapter 5) spelt the name as “Scricfinni.”