Following the sun [Portolan Atlas]

Antonio Millo was a late 16^th century Venetian with a practical knowledge of ship-handling, whether as a harbour master or pilot has not been decided definitively. He was the author of a navigation manual Arte del navigar (1590), of manuscript charts of Mediterranean islands and several atlases which are held in a number of European libraries. Despite this Millo is not considered a professional cartographer.

The Portolan atlas contains 14 double-page maps, of which the first six are conventional nautical maps of the time. Place names are added along the landward side of the coast, as the interior of a country was considered of little importance to mariners. Rhumb lines, a network of intersecting lines, served as navigational aids. The map of South East Asia shows "Java maior' i.e. Java without its south coast charted. This was not explored until 1596-97. Charting of other East Indian (Indonesian) islands such as Borneo was still incomplete and the map reflects this. Only the north coast of New Guinea is shown. Perhaps unusually the interior of Asia is shown but reflects imagination rather more than accurate knowledge, with the major Chinese rivers flowing north/south rather than east/west, and with a scattering of mountain ranges and one named desert 'Lob'--perhaps the Gobi Desert. The chart reflects the level of mapping in the region achieved by the Portuguese and Spanish explorers following the arrival of Vasco da Gama in India in 1498. For the next 100 years the Portuguese dominated European shipping to India and the east, until the Dutch gained control of the Indies in the late 16th century.

Millo's atlas comes from the last period in which these manuscript charts and atlases were produced. Decorative and frequently lavishly decorated with gold and silver and multiple colours they were intended for presentation and show, rather than practical use by sea captains. The maps themselves are preceded by illustrations of scientific instruments and a volvelle (an illustration with moveable components) which illustrates the course of the sun and moon.

The State Library of South Australia holds an illuminated full-color facsimile of the atlas, bound in linen.

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