CANTINO PLANISPHERE
Date: 1502 (the original)
Origin: Portugal (unknown author)
Material: Paper
Dimension: Height: 970 mm, Width: 2125 mm
Inventory No.: MM.06307
The Planisphere of 1502, or Cantino Map, is a copy of the original parchment kept at the Estense University Library, in Modena - Italy, made by an unknown author.
It is an extraordinary cartographic representation of the hitherto known world. It includes details of the lands found by the Portuguese, in a detailed representation full of information of vital strategic importance.
Cantino, an Italian spy in Lisbon, is believed to have bribed a Portuguese cartographer to obtain a copy of this planisphere, which he ended up clandestinely sending to his employer in Italy.
It is the oldest depiction of the Brazilian territory that has survived to this day. It reveals, in detail, how the Portuguese had managed to reach India by sea and attests to the Portuguese technological advance in 1502.