1574 Tabula Aphricae I

This Ruscelli map from his work La Geografia di Claudio Tolomeo Alessandrino, is based on the work of Ptolemy and covers northwestern Africa including Morocco and Tunisia, the contiguous coast of Spain and the Balearic Islands. At the southernmost tip of Spain are the Pillars of Heracles at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar, created, according to one legend by Hercules when he stamped his foot there. It is labeled on the map as Colunna Herculis. Myriad legends abound regarding Hercules and the Pillars. Much of the northwestern corner of Africa is depicted, including most if not all of modern-day Morocco, and much of Algeria. The great Atlas Mountains and other mountain ranges along with numerous rivers systems are shown. Known cities and ports of the day are named, as are islands due west of Morocco. The Atlantic is labeled in Latin ‘Oceanus Occidentalis’, meaning the Western Ocean. There is descriptive text in Italian on the verso. Girolamo Ruscelli (1500-1566) was an Italian