Originally an engineer, Giacomo Gastaldi soon turned his attention to mapmaking and in the process became one of the most important, inventive and innovative cartographer of the Renaissance.
I rip this (without shame) from Wiki:
"According to the author Philip Burden, Gastaldi’s 1548 edition of Ptomely's Geography , "was the most comprehensive atlas produced between Martin Waldseemueller's Geographia of 1513, and the Abraham Ortelius Theatrum of 1570,” because it included regional maps of the Americas.
Yet Gastaldi’s detailed attention to the new world was not his only contribution to the development of map production. The Ptolemy edition of 1548 was also an innovation in that Gastaldi and his publisher reduced the size of the volume, thereby making the first ‘pocket’ atlas. Finally, Gastaldi’s work also indicated a shift in cartographical technique via its use of the copper engraving. Prior to this period, most maps had been printed from woodcuts; by using a copper plate rather than a woodblock to print, the engraver could render a much higher level of finesse and detail.
The following quote (again, without shame) is not from Wiki:
"Cosmographer to the Republic of Venice, is considered by many to be “the greatest cartographer of the Italian school” (Verner-Stubbs, p. 12). He was the first to propose a strait separating North America from the Asian continent. Gastaldi’s most important work includes “La Nova Francia – one of the first maps to delineate the east coast of North America, and when first issued in 1556, the very first regional map of any part of present-day Canada."
See this list for more Italian cartographers.
Which eventually brought me to this interesting "History of Italy" index.
Note: Map image found at this site.
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