Wall maps

Exploring time and space: the collection of wall maps of the Museum of Geography

Discover the rich collection of wall maps of the Museum of Geography at the University of Padua!

It is a journey that begins in the mid-nineteenth century with important pieces such as the “Map of the surroundings of Rome” by Heinrich Kiepert, published in Weimar in 1850, or the first “Historical Wall Atlas” by Carl Anton Bretschneider, composed of ten maps depicting Europe in different historical periods, from 350 to 1815. Very interesting are also the two political Americas of Emil von Sydow and his “Oro-hydrographic Wall Atlas”, which around 1870 set a standard in the use of altimetric colors still largely valid today.

From the same period are also the “Table for Teaching Mathematical Geography” by Eduard Wetzel, in its first edition, and a precious nucleus of maps by Heinrich Kiepert dedicated to the ancient world. Again, of great value and beauty is the school variant of the famous Chart of the World by Mercator, a work of Hermann Berghaus, published for the first time in 1863 for Justus Perthes. The museum also preserves 43 plates of the very famous wall atlas by Paul Vidal de La Blache, in a specially made wooden cabinet, purchased in 1916 together with their illustrative booklets.

In the post-war period, the original nucleus was enriched with charts dedicated to many anthropic and physical themes, a few of which were internally handmade. In recent years, the museum has received as a gift from the Tito Livio Classical Liceum of Padua 65 wall maps, including a map from the Habsburg era, and some colored lithographs by Anton Reckziegel pictorially depicting landscapes from a geographical point of view.
The wall maps are not exhibited along the visit path but can be consulted on request, both in paper and digital versions (the scanning of the oldest nucleus is complete, that of the most recent maps is in progress).

Let yourself be led by our collection of wall maps on a journey of discovery that inspires and informs explorers of all ages!