Urbano Monti (16 August 1544 – 15 May 1613; alternate spelling: Urbano Monte) was an Italian geographer and cartographer.[1]

Urbano Monti
Urbano Monti
Born(1544-08-15)15 August 1544
Died15 May 1613(1613-05-15) (aged 68)
Resting placeSan Carlo al Corso, Milan
Occupations
  • Geographer
  • Cartographer
SpouseMargarita Niguarda
Children5
Parent(s)Giovanni Battista Monti and Angela de Menclozzi

Life

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He was born and raised in Milan, Italy, in a family of the minor nobility.[1] He grew up together with his two younger brothers and his paternal cousins in the family house in Milan. Despite his noble status Monti never held public office, but instead occupied himself with scholarship, particularly history and geography, with administering the family property, and with philanthropic endeavors.[1] At the age of 35 he married eighteen-year-old Margarita Niguarda by whom he had four sons and one daughter. He died in Milan on 15 May 1613 and was buried in the family chapel in the church of San Carlo al Corso.[1]

Career

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Monti's world map

Monti's most famous work is a large-scale world map accompanied by a multi-volume treatise on geography and cosmology. The map reflects the geographical knowledge of his time, but in some ways it is surprisingly advanced. While drawing on the works of other early modern cartographers like Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius, he included some of the most recent discoveries of his time, including the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego.[2] His depiction of Japan is particularly detailed and contains many place names not present on other Western maps of the time.[2]

One of the only three surviving copies of Monti's world map is today a part of the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection of Stanford University and have been recently digitized.[3][4]

Bibliography

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His notable books include:[5][6]

  • Descrizione del mondo sin qui conosciuto
  • Un prezioso cimelio della cartografia italiana

References

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  1. ^ a b c d D'Ascenzo 2012.
  2. ^ a b Miller 2017.
  3. ^ Rumsey, David. "David Rumsey Map Collection". www.davidrumsey.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  4. ^ La più grande mappa del mondo ai tempi del Rinascimento on YouTube
  5. ^ "Internet Archive Search: creator:"Urbano Monte (Monti)"". 2017-12-17. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  6. ^ "Descrizione del mondo sin qui conosciuto /". Worldcat.org. Retrieved 2018-05-31.

Source

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