Map of Europe - Jacopo Russo

This is an illuminated nautical chart from the atlas by Jacopo Russo, a cartographer active in Messina in the first half of the 16th century, preserved at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena. Created on parchment in 1521, it belongs to the genre of portolans, with a dense network of rhumb lines centered on a compass rose placed in the western Mediterranean. The map represents Europe, from the Atlantic and Iberian coasts to the Black Sea, including the British Isles, Italy, and the Mediterranean basin, with continuous toponymy in Italian of Portuguese derivation. Cities and kingdoms are emphasized by perspective views and coats of arms, following a Catalan-Italian tradition updated to oceanic discoveries, but still focused on Mediterranean routes.

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