The I sl and of Korču l a on Earl y M od ern M aps

. Based on selected cartographic depictions of Korčula from the early modern age, the paper examines the geographical knowledge about that island at the time the maps were made. Special attention is directed to the hitherto unknown map of the island of Korčula from the second half of the 1 6th or the first half of the 1 7th century, which is kept in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia, given that it shows a very detailed escription of the island of Korčula, especially its western part. The objective of this paper, using the example of the island of Korčula, is to point out the importance of cartographic renderings as an important source of spatial data and to determine whether there was a gradual improvement in the quality of the displayed geographical content in accordance with the assumed development of geographical knowledge and cartographic techniques from the beginning of the 1 6th century to the end of the 1 8th century. On the basis of the selected cartographic depictions of the island of Korčula, the significance of the island of Korčula in maritime and geographic frameworks characterized by different political interests, primarily that of Venice, was confirmed. The diachronic series of early modern geographical maps and nautical charts points to the gradual development of geographical knowledge about the island of Korčula, as well as to the improvement of the quality of graphical visualization of the relevant spatial data about that Croatian island.


Introduction
Cartographic renderings are an important source of information about space and an expressive medium of communication that contains data about space and in space (Robinson andPetchenik 1975, Bord 2011).Before the application ofgeodetic procedures, primarily surveys, which, in the case ofthe Croatian Adriatic area, were systematically carried out from the beginning of the 19th century (Faričić 2011a(Faričić , 2017)), the contents of a map depended a lot on the author's personal competences, on the (un)applied mathematical-cartographic elements (map projection, scale), on the choice of content that depended on the level of geographical knowledge and on the cartographic generalization ability and the application ofappropriate cartographic means ofexpression.As a result, there were often many errors on the maps in terms of the accuracy of the representation of geographic reality (location of geographic objects, linear and areal distortions, etc.).In addition, the content ofthe maps was influenced by the purpose ofthe map as well as the intention of the author or the person who ordered the map.Regardless ofwhich spatial units were depicted and with what level of knowledge about space and intentions, maps were a communication mechanism between different stakeholders, the most important among them being the cartographers and map users.In addition to the transmission ofinformation about the space, they also contained (un)conscious Lena MIROŠEVIĆ1 , Josip FARIČIĆ2 University of Zadar, Department of Geography, Zadar, Croatia 1 lmirosev@unizd.hr(ORCID: 0000-0002-801 6-9783) 2 jfaricic@unizd.hr(ORCID: 0000-0002-8235-1 91 7) Sažetak.U radu se na temelju odabranih kartografskih prikaza Korčule iz ranoga novog vijeka razmatraju geografske spoznaje o tom otoku u vrijeme izrade karata.Posebna pozornost usmjerena je na do sada nepoznatu kartu otoka Korčule iz druge polovine 1 6.ili prve polovine 1 7. st.koja se čuva u Archivio di Stato di Venezia s obzirom na to da je na njoj dan vrlo detaljan prikaz otoka Korčule, posebno njegovoga zapadnog dijela.Cilj je ovoga rada na primjeru otoka Korčule uputiti na važnost kartografskih prikaza kao važnog izvora prostornih podatka te utvrditi je li došlo do postupnoga unaprjeđenja kvalitete prikazanoga geografskog sadržaja u skladu s pretpostavljenim razvojem geografskih spoznaja i kartografskih tehnika od početka 1 6.st.do kraja 1 8. st.Na temelju odabranih kartografskih prikaza otoka Korčule potvrđeno je značenje otoka Korčule u pomorsko-geografskim okvirima obilježenim različitim političkim interesima, ponajprije Venecije.Dijakronijski niz ranonovovjekovnim geografskih i pomorskih karata upućuje na postupni razvoj geografskih spoznaja o otoku Korčuli kao i na unaprjeđenje kvalitete grafičke vizualizacije relevantnih prostornih podataka o tom hrvatskom otoku.
For the rendering of the north-eastern coast of the Adriatic during the early modern age (from the beginning ofthe 16th to the end ofthe 18th century), the most important maps are ofVenetian provenance.They were created in the context of political and economic influences in the mentioned area, while other European authors mainly compiled materials from Venetian cartographic originals.Venice, as a political and commercial centre whose economy depended on maritime trade, had a need for accurate cartographic depictions ofits trading sphere, but also ofits possessions on land (terraferma) and across the sea (stato da mar) (Cosgrove 1992;Juran et al 2019).Given that the navigation route along the north-eastern coast of the Adriatic, as one of the links between Europe and the Mediterranean, was of great traffic importance, Venice was interested in knowing the geographical features of that area, which logically resulted in its cartographic rendering.
In this context, it is necessary to consider the cartographic depictions ofone ofthe largest Adriatic islands − Korčula in southern Dalmatia.The representations ofthe island of Korčula and the surrounding area bear witness to the importance of the coastal navigation route, along which there were recognizable navigation landmarks, as well as precious spatial resources (ports with drinking water supplies, agricultural products, etc.).Island bays provided a safe harbourage in case ofbad weather.In case ofnot knowing the area, the island ofKorčula and the surrounding islets and reefs as well as shoals were dangerous for navigation (Kozličić and Faričić 2010).Although most early modern maps with a more detailed view ofthe coast and islands belonged to the corpus ofnautical charts and maps published in isolarios, they should not be viewed exclusively as a source ofnavigational data.In addition to data relevant to navigation, their content also included other spatial data.In this respect, nautical charts were complementary to geographical maps.Cartographic renderings of the island of Korčula with their geographical, demographic and economic data form the basis for reading the historical geographical spatial organization ofthat Dalmatian island.At the same time, the map as a medium ofcommunication influenced knowledge and the dissemination and acquisition of new spatial data about the displayed space (Faričić 2011b(Faričić , 2013)).

Methodology and Spatial Framework of the Research
The research results are based on the analysis of 19 selected originals ofold maps kept in the State Archives in Zadar, State Archives in Dubrovnik, Croatian State Archives, Archivio di Stato di Venezia in Venice, National and University Library in Zagreb, University Library in Split, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna and the British Library in London and reproductions of the originals that are available in digital version on the websites of the Stanford University Libraries (The Renaissance Exploration Map Collection), the Greek foundation The Aikaterini Laskaridis (Laskaridis Digital Collection) and the Liechtenstein Sylvia Ioannou Foundation (Books and manuscripts).One printed copy published in the book by L. Lago and C. Rossit (1984) was also analysed.The research does not include all maps with depictions of Korčula, but those that we consider to be representative samples on the basis of which it is possible to draw relevant conclusions about the gradual improvement of the quality of the geographical content shown on cartographic depictions of that Croatian island during the early modern era, with a briefreview of the maps that preceded them.Those maps were chosen based on which it is possible to diachronically follow the continuous development ofthe cartographic renderings of the island of Korčula, with regard to the established patterns and innovations in the selection and method of displaying geographical content, or stagnation, as the case may be, with regard to the acquisition ofgeographical content from older templates, which points to uncritical reproduction, i.e. poorer knowledge of the basic geographical features of that Croatian island in the era that preceded systematic geodetic surveys.
The map of the island of Korčula, which is kept in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia, has been dealt with in more detail.It is a hitherto unknown map, which we judge by the fact that no one has even mentioned it in Croatian scientific literature (or we are not aware ofit).The authors came across this map quite by accident while searching nautical charts and geographical maps of the Adriatic in this and other archives and museums in Venice.In the State Archives in Venice, it is catalogued as a map by an unknown author from the second halfofthe 16th century.Its more precise dating and determination of its author are made impossible by damage to the edges, especially in the place where the text is located, making it therefore illegible.This text was written in the place where, on old maps, information about the title, author and year of creation of the map was usually given, inside the cartouche or without it (Figure 10).
Na pomorskim kartama Jadrana otok Korčula je redovito prikazivan, a najčešće i imenovan.To je logično s obzirom na veličinu i važnost toga južnodalmatinskog otoka.Međutim, prikaz toga otoka ostao je "zamrznut" Slika 2. Prikaz otoka Korčule na Vescontijevoj karti Jadrana -isječak, Venecija, 1 31 1 .(Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Wien, Handschriftensammlung, Cod.594, Tabla 1 1 .). give an account of the gradual improvement in the quality of the geographical content on these maps, which was connected with the improvement of geographical knowledge and the gradual increase in the quality of collection, processing and graphic visualization ofspatial data about that Croatian island.In the analysis of the geographical content, emphasis was placed on toponyms, while other geographical elements were also investigated: relief, settlements, plant cover and various economic contents.Through the (absence of) toponyms on cartographic renderings, an attempt was made to determine the importance of the named geographic object by the one naming it, that is, the cartographer as an intermediary in the communication between (the residents) of the displayed area and the map user who, through this medium, tries to get an appropriate image ofthat area.The frequency oftoponyms within the selected cartographic depictions is based on the assumption that identification using toponyms points to the importance of geographical objects, while respecting the different intentions and interests or the level of knowledge of the cartographer, as well as the methodology, which in many cases relied on the reproduction ofolder geographical and cartographic material.
A methodological approach to the research was applied, which was used until now by J. Faričić in his works on toponyms on geographical maps and nautical charts ofcertain Croatian islands (Faričić 2008(Faričić , 2010(Faričić , 2013)), relying on methodological patterns in the historical-cartographic analyses of Marković (1993) and Kozličić (1995).At the same time, early modern maps with depictions of Korčula were comparatively analysed, and conclusions were drawn about the researched cartographic sources of spatial data by induction through the diachronic sequence and correlation with relevant data published in the historiographical literature.
U Adriatic began with nautical charts that started being made no later than the end of the 13th century (Campbell 1987).On these maps, the focus was on the geographical content of the coast of the mainland and the islands, relevant for the planning and implementation ofnavigational tasks, so only those geographical objects that fit into that content matrix were named.They were complementary in content to portolans (navigation manuals), so the name portolan chart is also used for the earliest such charts.These maps began to be made during the period of competition between several Adriatic powers, primarily Venice and the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom, for supremacy over the north-eastern part of the Adriatic.Venice, after multiple interruptions since the end ofthe 10th century, from 1409 (on Korčula from 1420) established its rule over most ofthe north-eastern coast of the Adriatic and kept it in that area until 1797 (Vrandečić and Bertoša 2007).With the aim of controlling and administering this area, Venetian authorities began documenting and mapping spatial resources, so in addition to nautical charts, maps were also created which, according to today's map typologies in terms of their content, could be classified as topographical maps.
On nautical charts of the Adriatic, the island of Korčula is regularly shown and most often named.This is logical given the size and importance of this South Dalmatian island.However, the depictions ofthat island remained "frozen" for centuries on overview nautical charts ofthe Adriatic and those derived from them.The island is named C(o)rzola on Pietro Vesconte's map ofthe Adriatic (1318) (Figure 2), and Curzola on Pietro Coppo's map of the Adriatic (1525) (Figure 3), which is a name that belongs to the Venetian corpus of Adriatic toponymy.Along with Venetian and other South European authors, Vicko Dimitrije Volčić from Dubrovnik (Vincentius Demetrius Volcius Raguseus) also produced nautical cartographic depictions of the Adriatic coast.On his 1593 nautical chart ofthe Adriatic (Figure 4), the island of Korčula was recorded as Corzula in red, which he used to write the names of the most important geographical objects on the sea and on land (for instance the names ofDubrovnik, Kotor, Ston, the island ofHvar, the island of Vis, Mljet and Lastovo), in contrast to the less important geographical objects whose names he wrote in black.Volčić, originally from a town relatively close to Korčula, in his depiction ofthe coastline ofthat island made a step forward compared to older and foreign authors of nautical charts, so the vast Vela Luka Bay can be clearly recognized in his drawing.In addition, he mapped many islets and reefs near Korčula, making it clear that these are potentially dangerous objects for navigation.
Only one settlement is shown on the island -the town of Korčula (curzola), while the Vela Luka Bay is shown, but not named, among the larger bays (Figure 5).On Camocio's isolaro Isole famose porti, fortezze, e terre maritime sottoposte alla Ser.ma Sig.ria di Venetia, ad altri Principi Christiani, et al Sig. or Turco.( 1574), the island of Korčula is shown with the fortified town of Korčula (CVRZOLA) delimited by two bays with shipyards (squeri) and with a briefdescription ofthe siege and defence of the town of Korčula against the Turkish fleet in 1571 (Figure 6).The same map shows the islands in the Pelješac Channel: Bobarda (a name that probably refers to the nearby Korčula settlement of Lumbarda), Lamadona (the islet of Badija with a Franciscan monastery), Fornase (from Italian fornace, oven, which could refer to the limestone on the island of Majsan) and Forcha (most likely the islet ofLučnjak).The islets on the south side ofthe island ofKorčula La lima (Mali and Veli Pržnjak, Trstenik, Gredica and Lukovac) and Carbon (Zvirinovik, which is located in front ofthe Karbuni harbour) are also shown.No toponyms are entered on the western side of the island.In his 1582 work Isulario et Portolano, the Greek sailor and cartographer Antonio Millo named the island of Korčula CHORCOLA, and the fortified town of Korčula as churzola (Figure 7).Millo's map of Korčula, as well as Camocio's map of Korčula, shows all the islets but only Lamadona, Forcha and Carbon are named.The French cartographer André Thevet showed the island ofKorčula on a map in the 1586 navigation manual Le Grande Insulaire et Pilotage (Faričić et al 2020).Thevet named the island by the nesonym Isle de Cursola, and the town of Korčula by the regional name Cursola (Figure 8).He also showed all the islets that are shown on Camocio's and Millo's map, while on the northern side of the island he particularly emphasized all the bays that are good for anchoring (Bonne sonde).
The cartographer Giuseppe Rosaccio in his 1598 work Viaggio da Venetia a Costantinopoli depicted the island of Korčula (CRVZOLA) without the nearby islets in the Pelješac Channel (between the island ofKorčula and the Pelješac peninsula).He named that channel with the hydronym Canal de Curzola, which today refers to the Korčula Channel between the island of Hvar and the island ofKorčula (Figure 9).The predominant feature of the depiction of the island ofKorčula in the isolarii by G. F. Camocio, A. Millo, A. Thevet and G. Rosaccio is reflected in the deformed rendering of the coastline and the shape of the island.The depiction of the eastern coast of the island of Korčula, i.e. the area of the city (peninsula) of Korčula, was regularly exaggerated spatially in relation to the island's other spatial units.This way, they probably wanted to highlight the importance of the administrative and maritime position ofthe city ofKorčula.The depiction ofthe real length ofthe island ofKorčula and its west-east extension, with the town of Korčula on the east and the Vela Luka Bay on the west coast, was completely absent from all cartographic depictions.These distortions are primarily the result of poor knowledge of the geographical features of the displayed area and the absence of a unique linear scale (Faričić et al 2020).An exception is Millo's cartographic rendering, which at the western end ofthe island ofKorčula drew a deep bay with a castle and the toponym ofSt.John (s.zuane).Such a depiction of the western part of the island somewhat reflects the actual situation, because in the 16th century the Vela Luka Bay housed four castles ofthe Korčula nobility and the small churches of St. Vincenzo and St. John in Gradina (Maričić 1997).
When considering the island and the town of Korčula, it is necessary to point out another specific feature.During the Middle Ages and the early modern era, the city ofKorčula was ofgreat importance.The favourable geo-traffic position of the city and the Pelješac Channel resulted in cartographic creations with emphasized depictions of the eastern part of the island of Korčula.Unlike the eastern part ofthe island, which was largely characterized by the urban and maritime functions of the city of Korčula, the western part of the island was an agrarian area with distinctly rural features.
On that part ofthe island, agriculture was the main economic activity that developed on relatively large agricultural areas that belonged to Blato (Campi Blatta).In the central part ofthe island there were fields belonging to Smokvica (Campus Smoquize) and Čara (Campus Magnus Carre), while in the eastern part of the island there were only a smaller number offields in Lumbarda (Campus Lombarde) and Žrnovo (Campus Zernove).There were none in the vicinity of the town of Korčula (Dokoza 2009).Such geomorphological features influenced the distribution and development of settlements.The convenience ofthe geographical location ofBlato was based on its location next to the island's most important agricultural areas, but also on its distance from the sea and the fact that it was surrounded by hills, and thus was protected from attacks by pirates.On the oldest depictions of the island of Korčula, Blato was not mapped, probably primarily because they were focused on depicting the coastal area.At the same time, on the maps ofKorčula published in the isolarios, the island's largest bay, the Vela Luka Bay, is not named on the west coast of the island, but rather the bays in front ofthe islets ofLa lima and Carbona on the south coast ofthe island.This is a consequence of intra-island traffic connections, i.e. the fact that the Vela Luka Bay − although a safe anchorage − was not in use.The island's only export port was Korčula.The transport ofagricultural products from the western part of the island to the town of Korčula went through the ports ofPrigradica and Prižba.Namely, the town of Korčula depended on the import of grain from Sicily and southern Italy, but this dependence was partially mitigated by the production of grain, especially barley, in the fields ofBlato (Dokoza 2003).

Cartographic depiction of the island of Korčula by an unknown author from the Archivio di Stato di Venezia
While the geographical contents ofthe western part of the island of Korčula are mostly omitted on nautical charts, in this respect the map ofthe island ofKorčula by an unknown cartographer from the Archivio di Stato di Venezia is much richer.In that archive, the map is dated to the second half of the 16th century, but no information on the map led us to confirm or reject such dating.In addition, not a single known document is associated with the map (or we did not find it by our omission), so the circumstances of its creation are not clear either.Unfortunately, the map is very damaged in the part where the text cartouche is located.The preserved part ofthe text does not have a single word that would refer to the map's author, circumstances and time ofcreation.We are inclined, therefore, to set the date more widely and assume that the map was created either in the second half of the 16th or in the first half of the 17th century.Namely, there are no genre analogies to that manuscript map of Korčula in the 16th century, while more detailed depictions of individual Croatian islands or parts of islands under Venetian administration date from the first half of the 17th century, such as, for example, Garsogani's 1610 map of Sutomišćica on the island of Ugljan, the oldest manuscript map from the Grimani Map collection of the State Archives in Zadar (Faričić 2022).
In contrast to the maps in the isolarios that were printed and had a greater impact, and certainly a wider user audience, the manuscript map of the island of Korčula was kept in one of the offices of the Venetian state administration and was not known to the wider geographical and cartographic community at the time.Because ofthis, its communication role is unfortunately framed within the Venetian administration.During the early modern period, the same was the case with other manuscript maps of smaller spatial units.Because they were intended as information on spatial resources or for determining land property relations in which a small number of officials and landowners were interested, they were not publicly available, and therefore, they could not serve as a source ofspatial data when creating printed maps oflarger spatial entities.
On the field of the map, the western part of the island of Korčula and its agricultural area are especially highlighted (Figure 10).Particularly interesting is the attention directed towards the Vela Luka Bay (Valle Grande) and the numerous toponyms within the bay (Vranaz, Tudoroviza, Privala, Cursar, Valle Bobovischia, Valle Gabriiza and Piscena Paricolar) which are still used as bay names today.Within the bay, the peninsula of St. John (S.Giovanni) with a church and the islets ofOšjak (scoglio Osciak) and Proizd (Proisd scoglio) are also named.There was no settlement at the bottom ofthe Vela Luka Bay at that time, but only four castles of Korčula nobles (Izmaeli, Gabrijelić, Nikoničić and Kanavelić) and the church of St. Vincenzo and St. John in the Gradina Bay (Maričić 1997).All the mentioned objects are drawn on the map, except for the church of St. Vincenzo in the immediate vicinity ofthe castle.
Osim u obalnom prostoru, toponimija je bogata i u agrarnom prostoru Bradata (Bradar Conrado) s istaknutom lokvom dok su ostale agrarne površine označene znakom kvadratića.Razmještaj kvadratića u okolici Blata, Smokvice i Čare odgovara agrarno najznačajnijim površinama na otoku.Iako je zapadni dio otoka bio u fokusu nepoznatog autora, on ne ističe, kako bi se očekivalo, u prvi plan agrarno najznačajnija blatska polja.Naime, na zapadu otoka Korčule agrarnu okosnicu razvoja su činili Blatsko polje -Donje blato, te Potirna, ali poljoprivredna proizvodnja bila je disperzirana na svim poljima ili blagim padinama zapadnog dijela otoka.Uz agrarnu, prednost polja Bradat je bio i geografski položaj.Polje je bilo smje-vicinity ofBlato, Smokvica and Čara corresponds to the most agriculturally significant areas on the island.Although the western part of the island was the focus of the unknown author, he does not highlight, as one would expect, the agriculturally most significant Blato fields.Namely, in the west of the island of Korčula, the agrarian backbone of development was the Blato field -Donje blato, and Potirna, but agricultural production was dispersed on all the fields or gentle slopes of the western part of the island.In addition to the agrarian advantage, the Bradat field was also well situated geographically.The field was located in the northern part of the Vela Luka Bay and had direct access to the bay or port ofGradina Sv.Ivana (St.John's Gradina), which was a completely sheltered anchorage.The Gradina Bay has been important since prehistoric times as a point of contact on the navigation route that connects the eastern and western shores ofthe Adriatic via the so-called Gargano -Tremiti -Palagruža -Sušac -Korčula -Hvar -Neretva island bridge.This connection is also confirmed by the ancient villa rustica in the eastern part of the Bradat field, i.e. the shore of Gradina, through which it communicated, as evidenced by the Roman wharfin the north-western part ofthe bay (Borzić 2009).Gradina Sv.Ivana (St.John's Gradina) was also of military importance in terms of monitoring the entrance to the Vela Luka Bay, but also over the Vis Channel.
On the basis ofthe historical toponyms from the few archival materials, it is possible, in comparison with the depiction on the map from Venice, to reconstruct the agrarian landscape.Gradina and Bradat stand out among the mentioned localities, which are mentioned in the documents on the division of the duke's land in 1411. 1 The Bradat field is also mentioned several times in other archival documents, as well as its smaller parts Bradat stup and Zabradat.The frequent naming ofBradat, as well as of smaller spatial units in archival sources points to the agricultural importance of that field.This is also confirmed by the ownership of several Korčula nobles over land parcels in that field (Dokoza 2022).
On the map, in addition to the city ofKorčula and its usual panoramic depiction, all the island settlements (Blatta, Smogvirza, Kzzara, Pupnara, Zernova, Racischia, Lombarda and Curzola) are named, which are shown with a stylized drawing.Particularly interesting is the depiction ofBlato, which clearly reflects the perception ofthe settlement as the demographic and agrarian centre of the island in the early modern era.
An interesting cartographic element on the map are manicules 2 that direct the user to the five island bays.These are Grdača Bay (Grherda) on the southern side of the island, and the bays Blaca (Blazza), Vaja or Samograd (Porto Barbier), Kneža (Knexa) and most likely Žrnovska banja (Sirechia Luka) on the northern side ofthe island of Korčula.It is difficult to determine why these ports are additionally highlighted with a map symbol of a small hand.It can be assumed that the intention of the unknown author was to highlight the key ports for intraisland maritime communication, i.e. the ports that connected the city ofKorčula with the rest ofthe island.
The cartographic depiction ofthe island ofKorčula stands out among the previously known and available cartographic depictions ofthe island.Namely, all other depictions of that island, mostly by Venetian but also other European authors, were identical in content.As a rule, they kept the same coastal representation with emphasis on the city ofKorčula and the Pelješac Channel, affirming the administrative significance of the city, as well as the importance of the island in the maritime geographical system of the Adriatic and the Mediterranean.
As already pointed out, the Venetian administration over the greater part of the north-eastern coast of the Adriatic demanded greater involvement of the Venetian authorities in the mapping of Adriatic spatial resources.Considering the prevailing general depictions of Korčula on the maps of the Adriatic, it is most likely that the map by the unknown author was created as a reflection ofthe aspirations ofthe Venetian authorities for more detailed mapping ofthe island area, which until then was known only in basic outlines.

Cartographic depictions of the island of Korčula during the 1 7th and 1 8th centuries
The Venetian interest in cartographic depiction of the north-eastern coast of the Adriatic was further strengthened by political circumstances in the 17th and 1 After the Treaty of Zadar in 1358, the rule of the Zorzi family over Korčula and the conflicts with their dukes over property on the island ended.The Korčula Grand Council made a decision in 1409 to divide the former duke's land between nobles and commoners, which was done in the Agreement on the Division of Land in 1411 (Foretić 1940).
2 Manicules are one of the most common symbols that readers wrote in the margins of manuscripts and/or publishers inserted into printed books in the period from the 12th to the 18th century.This small hand with the extended index finger was primarily used to indicate a particularly important passage of text (Sherman 2010).
early 18th centuries.Most of today's Croatia was organized as a border area ofthe imperial powers ofthe Habsburg Monarchy, the Ottoman Empire and the Venetian Republic.In that period, there were three wars between Venice and the Ottoman Empire -the Candian War (1645 -1669), the Morean War (1684 -1699) and the Second Morean War (1714 -1718).During those wars, Venice lost its possessions after which those wars were named (Candia -Crete and Morea -Peloponnese), but it significantly expanded its possessions in the north-eastern coast of the Adriatic.In this context, Venice tried to obtain as precise as possible cartographic renderings ofthe old and new acquisitions of its overseas possessions on the Adriatic (Mayhew 2008).The Venetian cartographer Vincenzo Maria Coronelli stood out in terms ofthe quality of the rendering of today's Croatian coastal area by producing dozens of maps showing individual parts of the Adriatic coastal belt.Coronelli presented the sociogeographic contents ofthe island ofKorčula on the map of the Republic of Dubrovnik, which was published in Venice in 1688 (Stato di Ragusi Bocca del Fiume Narenta, Isole di Lesina e Curzola nella Dalmatia prosedutte Dalla Serenissima Republica di Venetia) (Figure 11).On the southern side of the island, the Karbuni Bay (Carbone) is shown, with a note that it is suitable for all types ofboats, and additionally, the navigation route between the islets of Zvirinovik and Obljak is marked with a dotted line and the letter d.On the northern side ofthe island, the Blaca Bay (Blazza) is shown and described as a harbour suitable for smaller ships, i.e. boats, the Rašišće Bay (Rachisca) as a harbour that is not suitable for anchoring in case ofthe bora (Greco) and north wind (Tramonta), and Žrnovska banja (Bagna) as a port suitable for all types of ships.In the western part of the island, there are marked salted sardines and wine warehouses in three ports, in the Vela Luka Bay (Magazzini da Sardelle e Vino) and in the bays Triporte and Prigradica (Magazzini).In depicting the eastern part of the island, Coronelli did not introduce any significant innovations.A more detailed view of the city of Korčula (Figures 12 and 13) is published in his collection of maps, plans and views Mari, Golfi, Isole, Spiaggie, Porti, Citta, Fortezza, ed altri Luoghi Dell' Istria, Quarner, Dalmazia, Albania, Epiro, e Livadia in Venice in 1694.They show the port ofPidocchio3 and information about the depth ofthe Pelješac Channel: Canal di Curzola fondo 20 e 24 passi,4 and the shipyard that was recorded as "famous, appreciated" (squero famoso), through which, unlike Camocio, who  also depicted Korčula's shipyards, he gave an additional qualitative mark for that economic activity.Coronelli gave generalized depictions of the city of Korčula on other maps as well.On the 1694 map of Dalmatia, the borders ofthe Dalmatian districts (contadi) on the land and on the sea (Figure 14) are marked, along with the year of the Venetian occupation of certain coastal and island communes.Within the Korčula district established by the Venetian authorities in 1420 (Dokoza 2009), Coronelli included the island of Šćedro (Isola di Torcola) in addition to the island of Korčula and the associated islets.He stated that the Venetians captured Korčula in 992, and then again in 1420.He marked warehouses (Magazzin, Magazzini da Sardelle and Magazzini) by the bays on the western part ofthe island, indicating the economic significance ofthat part ofthe island.For the settlement Blato, along with the oikonym, the size of the settlement is also highlighted (Blatta Villa grossa di 200 casa).Coronelli, like the authors ofthe maps in the isolarios, emphasized the importance of the island's ports on the south coast of the island (Carboni, Tre Porte) with the note that these ports are suitable for all types ofships.
During the 18th century, Coronelli's geography was accepted by many European cartographers as a template for various depictions of the Adriatic.Coronelli's influence was retained in the depiction ofKorčula, which can also be seen on the maps ofthe French hydrographer and cartographer Jacques Nicolas Bellin.His selection of the Korčula toponyms on the Adriatic map from 1771 is interesting (Figure 15).Along with the name of the island, he pointed out that the island belongs to Venice (I DE CURZOLA aux Venitiens).Although this is a nautical chart, Bellin also provided users with relevant political-geographical information, familiarizing them with the political relations on the Adriatic.In this case, Bellin's intention was to demarcate the territory between the two Republics, so the island ofKorčula was designated as Venetian, while the island of Mljet as belonging to Dubrovnik.Bellin separately named Blato (Blatta), showing it with a church, as well as Lumbarda (Lombara) and Čara (Chiara).Among the hydrographic elements, the anchorages on the western side of the island are markedthe Vela Luka Bay and the Tri porte port (Les trois Ports bons pour tous Vai eaux) on the south-west coast, which, following Coronelli, were described as a good port for all Coronellijev geografski sadržaj nije bio jedini predložak koji je poslužio za mnoge kasnije nekritičke, a kadšto i nekvalitetne reprodukcije.Naime, odvojeno od koronelijanskog niza karata razvijao se jedan drugi osamnaestostoljetni dijakronijski reprodukcijski niz.Mletačke su vlasti poslije ratova s kraja 17. i početkom 18. st.organizirale izradu korografskih, odnosno topografskih karta Dalmacije.Izradi tih karata nisu prethodile sustavne geodetske izmjere premda su mjernički postupci bili provedeni s ciljem određivanja, a zatim i iscrtavanja novih mletačko-habsburško-osmanskih granica.Na tim korografskim kartama uspostavljen je geografsko-kartografski obrazac koji se, uz onaj Coronellijev, zadržao se sve do kraja 18., odnosno do početka 19.st.kada već anakroni korpus geografskih podataka postupno zamjenjuje sadržaj topografskih i pomorskih karata koje su nastale kao rezultat topografske i hidrografske izmjere današnjega primorskog dijela Hrvatske (Faričić 2011(Faričić , 2017;;Kozličić i Faričić 2016).U pogledu prikaza otoka Korčule na korografskoj karti Dalmacije, koju je u Zadru oko 1718.izradio nepoznati autor (možda ships.On the east coast, an anchorage in the Pelješac Channel is highlighted and on the north coast in the Kneža Bay or Žrnovska banja.It is interesting, however, that Bellin did not show the town ofKorčula on the map of the Adriatic.Moreover, he also did not do this on the map ofthe part ofthe Dalmatian coast from Rogoznica to Ston (Coste de Dalmatie entre Ragoniza et Stagno) where he provided a more detailed rendering of the island of Korčula (Figure 16) like the one found on Coronelli's map ofDalmatia.This is an example ofhow cartographic generalization of an insufficiently informed cartographer "swept away" important geographical content.
Coronelli's geographical content was not the only template that served for many later uncritical and sometimes low-quality reproductions.Namely, apart from the Coronelli series of maps, another eighteenthcentury diachronic reproduction series developed.After the wars ofthe late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Venetian authorities organized the production of chorographic and topographical maps ofDalmatia.The creation ofthese maps was not preceded by systematic geodetic surveys, although surveying procedures were carried out with the aim ofdetermining and then drawing the new Venetian-Habsburg-Ottoman borders.On these chorographic maps, a geographical-cartographic pattern was established, which, along with Coronelli's, remained until the end ofthe 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, when the already anachronistic corpus of geographical data was gradually replaced by the content of the topographic maps and nautical charts that were created as a result topographic and hydrographic surveys oftoday's coastal part ofCroatia (Faričić 2011(Faričić , 2017;;Kozličić and Faričić 2016).Regarding the depiction of the island of Korčula on the chorographic map ofDalmatia, which was made in Zadar around 1718 by an unknown author (perhaps Francesco Melchiori, who was then a prominent cartographer in the service of the Venetian administration in Dalmatia), it differs from Coronelli's maps by a much better rendering ofthe coastline and by naming certain smaller coves and islets on the southern (Trastenich, Bercich, Trepozzi, Porto Simon, Chandria vala, Rocotniza, Perina vala) and northern (Rachisca vala, Rasohattiza) coasts ofthe island.From the extreme geographical points of the island, the islet of Čančir (Cao Cancara) and Cape Kursar (Cao S. Zorzi) are named in the western part, and on the east Cape Ražanj (Cao Rasagn) (Figure 17).However, some other elements were taken from Coronelli, such as the ancient name of the island and the depiction of the administrative boundaries of Korčula with the years of Venetian occupation of the island (but those boundaries did not include Šćedro).
Progress in the depiction ofKorčula was recorded by Giuseppe A. Grandis, who used the geographical content from the 1718 topographical map but nevertheless made appropriate changes and additions to the manuscript topographical map Dissegno o' carta topografica della Dalmazia, which he created in Zadar in 1781.On that map, the depiction ofthe island ofKorčula is more realistic due to the more precise rendering of the coastline, and the depiction ofthe reliefby hachuring, whereby Grandis showed steeper slopes with denser hachures, and slopes with gentler slopes with less dense hachures.Ofthe island settlements, mainly coastal settlements or bays that are important for maritime communication are shown (named and marked with a red map symbol).The population centres in the interior of the islands of Blato and Smokvica, and even Lumbarda, which is on the coast, are not shown on that Grandis map, nor on the 1718 map ofDalmatia.Although Grandis supplemented his cartographic representation with the toponyms Tankarac (Tremuli), Prapatna (Prapadna) and Bristva (Brista) on the northern coast of the island, and on the southern the Brno Bay (Porto Berno) in comparison with the 1718 map (Figure 18), it remained within a methodological pattern in which the interior ofthe island is neglected.
The last early modern cartographic depiction ofthe island of Korčula is that of Vincenzo de Lucio, who around 1790 created a map of the Adriatic in several sheets, including a sheet showing the islands and the water area to which Korčula belongs.However, Vincenzo de Lucio's cartographic depiction does not introduce anything new with regard to the depiction of Korčula (Figure 19).On that depiction of the island of Korčula (I.CVRZOLA), highlighting of the toponyms on the west coast ofthe island can be noticed.In addition to those already established on geographical maps (3 Porti, Carboni, Magazeni, P. Magazeni), the toponyms P. Blata and P. S. Zuane della Blatta are also entered on this nautical chart.The toponym P. Blata refers to the westernmost part ofthe Vela Luka Bay, i.e. the Privala area.The other toponym P. S. Zuane della Blatta is inscribed at the bottom of the Vela Luka Bay, and it is difficult to determine to which part ofthe coast it refers.Namely, in the western part ofthe island there are two churches dedicated to St. John.One small church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist in the Gradina Bay, while the other is dedicated to St. John the Evangelist and is located in the village of Blato.The naming ofthe westernmost part ofthe island, i.e. the Privala point as P. Blata refers to the administrative-territorial actuality, i.e. the gradual littoralization of the settlement of Blato, in which the Vela Luka Bay is becoming a functional part of Blato, which ultimately led to the formation ofthe new settlement ofVela Luka.Based on the research of selected cartographic sources, it was determined that the quality of the geographical content, in addition to the number and features of the toponyms of the island of Korčula, the neighbouring islets and the associated water area, mainly depended on the type of map, its scale and the level of geographical knowledge about that Croatian island.The interest in mapping the coastal area arose from the geostrategic and/or political interests of European powers, primarily Venice.The selected examples of geographical maps and nautical charts confirm this interest.These are overview maps of the Adriatic and the Mediterranean on which the island of Korčula is regularly shown, although schematically without detailed information and description of the coast on the cartographic depictions.On these maps, the name of the island and/or the name of the city of Korčula were most often inscribed, which, in addition to the insufficient geographical knowledge ofthe mapped area, was certainly conditioned by the scale and dimensions of the map, which consequently affected the degree ofgeneralization and the lack ofavailable space for writing geographical names.
More detailed cartographic renderings ofthe island ofKorčula are published in isolarios, which, in addition to the already standard depictions ofthe island and toponyms, also contain a representation ofthe islets in the Pelješac Channel.The fact that Korčula was shown in isolarios on special maps points to the importance of that island on the north-eastern Adriatic Sea route.
The most detailed and complete rendering ofthe island of Korčula is a large-scale map by an unknown author from the second halfofthe 16th century or the first half of the 17th century.Considering the geographical content ofthe map, it was most likely created by order of the Venetian authorities with the intention of recording or collecting more precise spatial data, mainly those of economic geographical content about the extreme western part ofthe island.
The Venetian cartographer Coronelli at the end ofthe 17th century took a more significant step forward in the quality ofthe depiction ofthe island ofKorčula.He established a kind of geographical-cartographic template which, like the one associated with the Venetian mapping of Dalmatia after the Morean War and the Second Morean War, remained until the end of the 18th or the beginning ofthe 19th century, when topographical maps (and thematic maps based on them) and nautical charts began to be made as a result ofsystematic and scientifically based surveys.The last among the more detailed early modern cartographic renderings is De Lucio nautical chart ofthe Adriatic, on which, however, the island of Korčula is not shown any better than the depictions on the topographical maps of Dalmatia that immediately preceded it.On these maps, the authors emphasized the depiction of relief and island settlements, and less often also some economic geographic features (for example, the shipyard in the town ofKorčula).Given that the scale of these maps was larger compared to cartographic products from the 16th and most of the 17th century, more geographical names were written on them.In addition to Venetian toponyms associated with larger settlements and more important capes and ports, which gradually became established as standard linguistic geographic corpus ofgeographical maps and nautical charts, Croatian (Slavic) geographical names were also inscribed, for which there were apparently no alternative Venetian linguistic solutions.Namely, it was possible to show many more geographical objects on larger-scale maps of larger dimensions, so the cartographer's "magnifying glass" showed the previously unknown geographical content, ofwhich Croatian toponymy is an integral part.Francesco Melchiori koji je tada bio istaknuti kartograf u službi mletačke uprave u Dalmaciji), razlikuje se od Coronellijevih karata po mnogo boljem prikazu obalne crte te imenovanjem pojedinih manjih uvala i otočića na južnoj (Trastenich, Bercich, Trepozzi, Porto Simon, Chandria vala, Rocotniza, Perina vala) i sjevernoj (Rachisca vala, Rasohattiza) obali otoka.Od krajnjih geografskih točki otoka imenovani su na zapadnom dijelu otočić Čančir (Cao Cancara) i rt Kursar (Cao S. Zorzi), a na istoku rt Ražanj (Cao Rasagn) (slika 17).Međutim, neki drugi elementi preuzeti su od Coronellija poput antičkog imena otoka i prikaza administrativnih granica Korčule s godinama mletačkog zauzeća tog otoka (ali tim granicama nije obuhvaćeno Šćedro).

Fig. 1 0
Fig. 1 0 Depiction of the island of Korčula by an unknown author, second half of the 1 6th centuryfirst half of the 1 7th century (Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Miscellanea Mappe, Sign.36).

Note
This paper is the result of research carried out as part of the scientific project IP-2020-02-5339 Early Modern Nautical Charts ofthe Adriatic Sea: Information Sources, Navigation Means and Communication Media funded by the Croatian Science Foundation.

Fig. 1 9
The island of Korčula on a cartographic depiction of the Adriatic by Vincenzo de Lucio -excerpt, Venice, around 1 790 (Croatian State Archives, Map collection, E.IV.1 3.).