Il Regno di Candia

Title

Il Regno di Candia

Description

Map shows the island of Crete with beautiful representations of seamonsters and sailing ships. The map is based on the important map of Basilicatat. A fine example from a Creta view from the early Lafreri school.

ca. 1660

Artist

Boschini (1602-1681)

Marco Boschini (1602-1681) was an Italian painter and engraver of the early Baroque period in Venice. He also distinguished himself as an engraver and as a writer on art. He was the author of several publications, such as: La Carta del Navegar pittoresco (1660), a panygic poem on Venetian painting; Le minere della pittura veneziana (1664) and Le ricche minere della pittura veneziana (1674), two city guides of Venice; I gioieli pittoreschi. Virtuoso ornamento della città di Vicenza (1676), a city guide of Vicenza. In the field of cartography, he is probably known for his work on Crete and the publication of a book of 3 important maps of Crete. Derived from the handwritten maps of Francesco Basilicata. Francesco Basilicata (died c. 1640) was an Italian cartographer and military engineer of the 17th century. Basilicata worked in the service of the Republic of Venice and is known for his maps and drawings of the island of Crete. Very little is known about Basilicata's life. Upon his return home, he would have taken the surname Basilicata. However, it is certain that Basilicata lived in Crete for several years in the first decades of the 17th century, towards the end of the Venetian presence on the island.

Historical Description

The island of Creta is first described in texts from the Syrian city of Mari in the 18th century BC. BC called Kaptara, which are later repeated in Neoassyrian records and in the Bible (Caphtor). It was also known as Keftiu in ancient Egypt, strongly suggesting that a shape similar to both was the Minoan name for the island.