Zakynthos
Zakynthos was mapped in the first major isolario, “Liber Insularum Archipelagi” by Cr. Buondelmonti (1420), a manuscript which inspired later isolaria, in manuscript and in print (B. Bοrdone, 1547). Like all similar works, the isolario of Antonio Millo (1582-91) is enriched by engravings already published in contemporary editions. Antonio marks perillous waters on the maps of his isolaria, and uses the place names found in contemporary portolani.
Following the victory of the Holy League in the battle of Lepanto (1571), the map of Zakynthos published in the pioneering isolario by G.Fr. Camocio (1574) emphasizes the mighty fortress on the hill and also shows the cultivated fields on the island. Camocio's work was inspired later isolaria such as the one by G. Rosaccio (1598), and lent its illustrations to pilgrim chronicles (H. Beauvau, 1615). A similar map, with small variations, is found in the pilgrim chronicles by J. Zuallart (1587) and J. Cootwick (1619). This last work includes the first images of the putative tomb of Marcus Tullius Cicero, a subject repeated in later editions during the following two centuries (Th.S. Hughes, 1820). In 1572 T. Porcacchi published a very successful isolario, (here the edition of 1620) in which he employed the novel technique of copper engraving. This technique permitted the creation of more detailed and accurate images and a greater concentration of information; it gradually became the technique of choice for all illustrated works, until the early 19th century, when progressively lithography became the most popular technique. The work of A. Rocchetta (1630) contains much original material, and is rich in information on locations and advice to travellers. Its illustrations are copied from earlier popular pilgrim's accounts.
The work by J. Lauremberg (1660) includes excellent engravings of maps of ancient Greece. The maps are accompanied by historical and geographical explanatory texts, which testify to the author's deep erudition. The plates in the work by J. Sandrart (1687) show castles and other location, in their majority under Ottoman rule. Several similar works which highlight the victories of the Venetians against the Ottomans in the Sixth Ottoman-Venetian War (1684-1699) were released during the same period. The editions by J. Enderlin include copies of engravings found in earlier or nearly contemporary popular works (1686). The editions by J. Peeters in the late 17th century (1686 and 1690) also exalt the victories of the Holy League in the Ottoman-Venetian wars. The plates show cities, ports and other locations in Austria, Southeastern Europe, the eastern Mediterranean and places in Asia all the way to India and Saudi Arabia. Finally, the companion Atlas to the work edited by J.B.G.M. Bory de St. Vincent (1823) includes an interesting map of the island.
The subjects of the illustrations which accompany this edition of J. Spon 's voyage (1678), which is highly significant for the author's pioneering exploration of ancient sites, are novel and groundbreaking for their time. Most of the pictures are first-ever depictions of archaeological sites and ruins. G. Wheler visited Greece together with Jacob Spon, the French physician who first sought for antiquities in situ, basing himself on ancient sources. Wheler's journey started from Zakynthos, which he maps in his own special manner (1682). V.M. Coronelli, the founder of the Academia Cosmografica degli Argonauti in Venice, published several editions illustrated with hundreds of copper engravings, which aimed at exalting Venice's victories during the Ottoman-Venetian war (1684-1687). There are only two copper engravings of Zakynthos, (V.Μ. Coronelli, 1687), in the 1687 edition. The edition published the following year includes a map and plans of the castle and its fortifications (V.Μ. Coronelli, 1688). Copies of these drawings, either identical or with variations, have been included in the reprints and translations of Coronelli's works since then. In addition, they illustrate travel chronicles, historical treatises and geographic editions such as Ol. Dapper's work of 1688, a work with highly elaborate engravings which was based mainly on ancient Greek and Latin sources, portolani, isolaria, contemporary travel accounts and reliable maps. This work includes tables with antiquities from the island and a most impressive view of the town of Zakynthos with the port. The contemporary work by J.v. Sandrart (1686) shows influences of earlier similar engravings, dating from the late 16th century.
Seventy years later, the travel chronicle by British merchant Al. Drummond (1754) includes two original views, one of a skerry and one of the city of Zakynthos. The fact that Zakynthos occupied a central place on the maritime route from the Adriatic to the East is confirmed by the existence of numerous maps of the island's anchorages J.N. Bellin in 1771 and J. Roux, 1804). A map of the anchorages is also found in the companion Atlas to A. Grasset de Saint Sauveur's three-volume work on the Ionian islands (1800). The illustrations of Zakynthos in de Saint-Sauveur's work comprise views of locations, antiquities and depictions of local costume. Maps of Zakynthos are also included in the works by R. Chandler (1776), who travelled to the East with an expedition organized by the Society of the Dilettanti), W. Goodisson (1822), who, aside from his work as assistant surgeon, investigated and recorded a wealth of information on the island and its inhabitants, and in the companion Atlas to J.J. abbé Barthélemy's travel narrative and fictional recreation of the ancient world (1832), which paints an idyllic panorama of antiquity. The drawings of W. Black (1822-26) are an invaluable source for the country's history, as they are among the scarce pictures from the era of the Greek Revolution.
Drawings by architect and painter A.L. Castellan (1808), who visited Zakynthos on his way to Istanbul, are objective but show a distinct sensitivity. The artist provides original information and images (views and costume). The voyage of archaeologist Ed. Dodwell and the subsequent editions (one of which in 1819) introduced a new way of reading space and its elements (landscape, antiquities, people etc.). Dodwell travelled in the company of Italian painter S. Pomardi, who published his own account, illustrated with several of his drawings (1820). The Italian artist Pomardi (1820) drew several subjects at the scholar's request. Pomardi's drawings are characterized by clarity and concision. J. Cartwright's works (1821) render landscape and people realistically, with great technical dexterity, delicacy, spontaneity and sensitivity. Griechenland (1825c) was one of several early 19th-century editions on customs, traditions, costumes and monuments of Greece. The illustrations consisted of plates already published in popular travel accounts of the previous decades.
After his journey in Greek lands, at the begining of the 19th century, Stackelberg was able to render historical locations and antiquities in accordance with the emerging tendency of romanticism (1834).
Soon after the foundation of the Greek state, Chri. Wordsworth published a highly successful work, more of a historical narrative than a travel chronicle, with abundant illustrations. In one reedition (1882) there is a singular depiction of the reaping the olive harvest of the island's cultivars.
The peaceful, green landscapes of the island were renderred beautifully in the works of landscape painter Ed. Lear (1863), who lived in Corfu for many years and toured the Ionian islands. The same serenity is transmitted by the engravings in the works of R.R. Farrer (1882) and A. Schweiger Lerchenfeld (1887).
Finally, the Emblem of the United States of the Ionian islands (1817-1864), with the royal coat of arms of Great Britain, is included in J.H. Allan's chronicle of his journey to the Mediterranean (1843).
Written by Ioli Vingopoulou