The Double Life of a 16th Century Portolan Chart

What happens when a 16th century portolan chart is recycled as a protective book cover by a notary?

This public lecture brings to life the story of a sixteenth-century portolan chart repurposed as a protective cover for the 1587–1601 index of the notary Giovanni Domenico Spiteri, highlighting the early modern practice of recycling obsolete manuscripts and maps within archival  bindings. 

This public lecture explores the chart's cartographic features, colour palette, and evidence of reuse, including contemporary doodles and annotations preserved within the index. Particular attention is given to the conservation treatment, which stabilised both the fragile portolan fragment and the bound volume while revealing valuable material evidence of its original function and subsequent adaptation. Through the combined

perspectives of codicology, cartographic history, and conservation, the paper demonstrates how recycled binding materials can offer significant insights into early modern documentary practices, material culture, and the transmission of maritime knowledge.

This lecture…