Map of Russia - Moscovia Nuova Tavola - Ruscelli (Venice 1561–1599)
This map — “Moscovia Nuova Tavola” — is among the earliest modern printed maps of Muscovy (Russia), adapted by Girolamo Ruscelli from the influential 1550 map of Giacomo Gastaldi, the official cosmographer to the Venetian Republic. It first appeared in Ruscelli’s 1561 edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia published by Valgrisi, and later in reissues through 1599.
The plate portrays European Russia and western Siberia, stretching from Scandinavia and the Baltic in the west to the Ural region and Central Asia in the east. Rivers such as the Volga and the Don are carefully rendered, and numerous ethnographic groups are named — Tartaria, Nogai Tartari, Circassia, Alania, Zagatay — reflecting the fragmented understanding of the Russian steppe world by Italian cosmographers. Mountain ranges are stylized in the typical Ptolemaic fashion, with wave-like hatching and tiny fort cities.
The verso text (“Moscovia Secunda Tavola Nuova D’Asia”) explains to Italian readers that Muscovy, though often considered part of Europe, was classified here under Asia — a reflection of mid-sixteenth-century geographical conventions when Russia’s imperial borders were expanding eastward.
What we have here is a Scarce early Venetian engraving of Muscovy based on Gastaldi’s 1550 prototype — among the earliest printed depictions of Russia as a unified realm. Surviving examples with full margins and original Italian text verso are very rare.
In summary;
Ruscelli’s Moscovia is not merely a geographic document but a cultural artifact of Venetian intelligence on Eastern Europe at a moment when trade routes to Persia and Cathay were being reconsidered after the fall of Constantinople. It helped Western scholars visualize a region known largely through the reports of ambassadors and travelers such as Baron Sigismund von Herberstein. The map’s depiction of Tartaria and the steppe tribes remains a primary example of Renaissance ethnographic cartography.
Our favourite direct quote from our Italian publisher resonates even today; “The Muscovites are a warlike people, very ready for arms; they keep many horses and are accustomed to labor and to warfare. Through their strength and constancy, they have made great progress in the neighboring lands.”
Condition:
Strong and even impression
Full platemark and generous margins
Clean verso with complete Secunda Tavola text
Absence of later coloring
This map — “Moscovia Nuova Tavola” — is among the earliest modern printed maps of Muscovy (Russia), adapted by Girolamo Ruscelli from the influential 1550 map of Giacomo Gastaldi, the official cosmographer to the Venetian Republic. It first appeared in Ruscelli’s 1561 edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia published by Valgrisi, and later in reissues through 1599.
The plate portrays European Russia and western Siberia, stretching from Scandinavia and the Baltic in the west to the Ural region and Central Asia in the east. Rivers such as the Volga and the Don are carefully rendered, and numerous ethnographic groups are named — Tartaria, Nogai Tartari, Circassia, Alania, Zagatay — reflecting the fragmented understanding of the Russian steppe world by Italian cosmographers. Mountain ranges are stylized in the typical Ptolemaic fashion, with wave-like hatching and tiny fort cities.
The verso text (“Moscovia Secunda Tavola Nuova D’Asia”) explains to Italian readers that Muscovy, though often considered part of Europe, was classified here under Asia — a reflection of mid-sixteenth-century geographical conventions when Russia’s imperial borders were expanding eastward.
What we have here is a Scarce early Venetian engraving of Muscovy based on Gastaldi’s 1550 prototype — among the earliest printed depictions of Russia as a unified realm. Surviving examples with full margins and original Italian text verso are very rare.
In summary;
Ruscelli’s Moscovia is not merely a geographic document but a cultural artifact of Venetian intelligence on Eastern Europe at a moment when trade routes to Persia and Cathay were being reconsidered after the fall of Constantinople. It helped Western scholars visualize a region known largely through the reports of ambassadors and travelers such as Baron Sigismund von Herberstein. The map’s depiction of Tartaria and the steppe tribes remains a primary example of Renaissance ethnographic cartography.
Our favourite direct quote from our Italian publisher resonates even today; “The Muscovites are a warlike people, very ready for arms; they keep many horses and are accustomed to labor and to warfare. Through their strength and constancy, they have made great progress in the neighboring lands.”
Condition:
Strong and even impression
Full platemark and generous margins
Clean verso with complete Secunda Tavola text
Absence of later coloring