Distinctive Visual and Toponymic Characteristics of Adriatic Sea Island Representations in Early Modern Cartography

The research addresses the representation of selected Adriatic islands, subcategorised with respect to their size, on early modern nautical charts and geographical maps employing two concurrent approaches. The first approach inspects their positioning relative to one another and in absolute terms, and their visual appearance. Particular emphasis was placed on their dimensions in relation to a modern map, which were quantified utilising the Local Map Scale Index (LMSI). The second approach focuses on the toponymical content, and examines their distribution and varieties, including some notable aspects of naming certain islands. The findings indicate that small remote islands such as Palagruža and Pianosa were rendered as the most exaggerated, presumably due to their significance for terrestrial navigation, and that early modern geographical maps depicted islands larger than contemporary printed nautical charts. Research has established that most of the islands on old maps were designated by Venetian names rather than by the names used by their inhabitants, reflecting the influence of Venice as the dominant political and economic power in the Adriatic. In this process, greater emphasis was placed on naming the more important islands of the outer chain and the offshore islands relevant to maritime navigation, regardless of their size. Although the nature of these phenomenologically distinct map elements hinders the establishment of a convincing quantitative correlation and causal relationship between their manifestation and distribution, they are complementary as they collectively improve spatial orientation and reflect historical geographical understanding during the examined period. Consequently, the study aims to introduce a novel cartometric and analytical methodology to enhance the present understanding of island representations on early modern charts and maps overall.