Map of South America from 1740

Beautifully engraved Italian edition of Delisle’s map of South America, extending from Nicaragua to Tierra del Fuego.

Place names in South America are mainly concentrated along the coasts and along the Amazon and Paraná rivers.

Two mythical lakes also appear: Lake Cassipa Dorada (a smaller version of the more famous Lac de Parime) with the legendary city of Manoa to the south-east, and Lake Xarayes in the centre of the continent.

Central Brazil is left blank, except for a note explaining that the Brazilians claim that the S. Francesco and Real rivers flow together for a long time and join the Rio della Plata (Paraná River).

The South Pacific is also depicted with the routes of various explorers, including Magellan, Le Maire, Olivier van Noort and Mendana, with part of the Solomon Islands shown.

The large pictorial cartouche at the top shows a woman on horseback inspecting galleons in the distance and a hunter attempting to spear a crocodile. “Carta Geografica della America Meridionale” (Geographical Map of South America), Albrizzi, Girolamo

Map of South America from 1740 – Historical Maps of Brazil