Portulan Atlas by Juan Riczo

Portolan Atlas by Juan Riczo

The Portolan Atlas by Juan Riczo, also known as the Atlas of Oliva, is an exciting testimonial to the cartography of the world in the 16th century. The renowned Spanish cartographer Juan Rico, who is also known by his pseudonym Oliva, completed his atlas in the year 1580. The cartographic work consists of a total of 19 grandiose maps, each on a double page. As a result, the entire world as it existed at that time is surveyed, with the focus on the seas, bodies of water, and coasts. The weightiness of the early maps of the American continent is increased by the Portolan Atlas by Juan Riczo!

A Spaniard in Italy

Joan or Juan Riczo is identified as the artist responsible for the famous nautical world atlas. Juan Riczo, also known by the pseudonym Oliva, was a famous Spanish cartographer, who was active in Sicilian Messina in the years 1580–1615. The portolan atlas, his magnum opus, was published in Naples in the year 1580. It contains a magnificent miniature of the Crucifixion, inter alia, in the atlas itself. Under the depiction with Mary and Joseph standing at either side of Christ on the cross, one notices an inscription by the author: “Joan Riczo, alias Oliva, figlo de maestro dominico in napole. Año 1580.”

Artful Décor and Geographic Precision

The atlas by Oliva assembles 19 grandiose maps measuring 43 x 29 cm on 38 pages, including two by Baldassare Maggiolo. All of them depicted on a double-page, respectively. Special attention is paid to the coasts, where countless labels identify cities and locations. Glorious, splendid ships populate the seas, which are crossed by numerous nautical markers. Thus, the atlas is presented in an eminently aesthetic design. Marvelous frames surround the maps, which are designed with precious and artful ornamentation.

All the World’s Oceans and Much More

Juan Riczo, in his nautical world atlas, comprehensively represented the entire geographic knowledge of his time. One finds early maps of the newly discovered American continent, inter alia. Additionally, there are maps of the Aegean Sea with Greece and numerous islands, a map of the Sea of Marmara and Asia Minor, and additionally of the eastern Mediterranean with Africa, and a map of South America’s Atlantic coast “from the Antilles to northern Brazil.” The overview is also accompanied by a mappa mundi, a world map with winds that blow around from all directions. An additional map – though not nautical – shows the Near East and the Caspian Sea. The entire world as it existed at that time is depicted, from the Indian to the Pacific Ocean, from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, and the recently discovered and newly settled regions of America and India in particular!