Plano de las Islas de Malta, Gozo, y Cumin

Rare map of Malta, Gozo and Comino, produced by Spanish military engineers, one of the few printed maps of the islands with first-hand data. In 1784, the Spanish crown sent an embassy with three ships to Constantinople, with the purpose of strengthening the nascent ties established between the two courts following the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce in 1782. On its return, the expedition, led by Gabriel de Aristizábal y Espinosa, spent five months in Malta preparing two galleys acquired from the Grand Master. During this period, the frigate ensign Miguel José Cerquero was charged with producing several plans, especially of the Grand Harbour of Malta and of the harbour of Marsamxett. The originals of these plans are held in the Naval Museum of Madrid. The results of these surveys and soundings are reflected in the present map, which shows the depths from the island of Comino to the harbour of Marsaxlokk. The account of Aristizábal’s voyage was published in Madrid in 1790 in a work titled “Viage a Constantinopla en el año 1784”. At the height of the Spanish Enlightenment, the result of the Bourbon reforms, the work was published with great care. It was produced by the Imprenta Real, using excellent paper, and illustrated with numerous engravings from the Real Calcografía. The map was made by two experts in cartography: the geographer Felipe Bauzá y Cañas, who drew it, and Juan de la Cruz Cano, who engraved it. Very scarce: not found in AMPR, nor in Rare Book Hub, a single example in WorldCat (National Library of Spain).