Analysis of the Language of the Historical Maps of Abruzzo from 1550 to 1800. Between the Objective Portrayal and the Reading of Unconventional Codes

摘要

The research explores some peculiar aspects of the study of the Abruzzo cartography from the middle of the sixteenth century up to the nineteenth century. In particular, it is analyzed the geographical language on one hand, and the illustrative apparatus with the graphic techniques that enclose apparently hidden but extraordinary meanings on the other. The study moves between a conscious territorial representation and a careful reading of the unconventional codes that, through Olao Magnoa??s Carta Marina, a 1539 emblematic illustration depicting the Nordic territories bathed by a imaginary creatures populated sea, that allow a double reading dense with objective meanings and a series of metaphors of fictional and surreal impact.