The Sicily of cartographers: views, maps and choreography in Modern Age

Abstract

In Sicily, mostly after the visit of Charles V began –along with the need to transform the island into a fortress– the development of military cartography controlled by the Spanish Crown. Different engineersarchitects represent the coastal cities of the Kingdom through drawings, maps and descriptions like Tiburzio Spannocchi (1578) and Camillo Camiliani (1584). In this article, after rebuilding synthetically the landscape of the Sicilian cartography, we want to mention those atlases that, departing from simply military purposes, could be seen as a source of pleasure by their patrons. Within this scenario is leading the cartographic work Teatro Geografico antiguo y moderno del Reyno de Sicilia from 1686, which – through its graphical representation– responds to a new Baroque culture and is presented as a precursor of works by a team of artists, authors of the Voyage pittoresque of the eighteenth century.