This Earthly Globe - by Andrea Di Robilant (Paperback)

About the Book

"In the autumn of 1550, a thick volume containing a wealth of new geographical information, with startling wood-cut maps of Africa, India and Indonesia, was published in Venice under the title Navigationi & Viaggi (Journeys & Navigations). The person who had edited this remarkable collection of travelogues, journals, and classified government reports was unknown. Two more volumes delivered the most accurate information on Asia and the "New" World that was available. The three volumes together constituted an unparalleled release of geographical data into the public domain. It was, Andrea di Robilant writes, the biggest Wikileak of the Renaissance. In Orb, di Robilant brings to life the palace intrigues, editorial wheedling, delicate alliances, and vibrant curiosity that resulted in this coup by the editor G. B. Ramusio. Learned and self-effacing, he gathered a diverse array of both popular and closely guarded narratives-from the journals of Marco Polo (he fact-checked them!) to detailed reports on Northern African cultures from Hasan ibn Mohammad al-Wazzan of Andalusia; diverse voices spill out from these chapters as di Robilant recounts how Ramusio pursued them, and how he understood both the darker episodes of "exploration," which included colonial violence, and the voices of people from African and Asian lands, who had a great deal to share about their cultures. The result is a far-flung and delightful homage to one of the founding fathers of book publishing"--

Book Synopsis

From the author of the best-selling A Venetian Affair ("A narrative of novelistic resonance . . . Astonishing" --The Washington Post), the story of an Italian Renaissance book editor who introduced European minds to the wider world through his passion for geography

"An extraordinary story that reads more like a thriller than a book about history. A dazzling tale, brilliantly told." --Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads and The Earth Transformed

In the autumn of 1550, a thick volume containing a wealth of geographical information new to Europeans, with startling woodcut maps of Africa, India and Indonesia, was published in Venice under the title Navigationi et Viaggi (Journeys and Navigations). The editor of this remarkable collection of travelogues, journals and classified government reports remained anonymous. Two additional volumes delivered the most accurate information available at the time on Asia and the "New World." The three volumes together constituted an unparalleled release of geographical data into the public domain. It was, Andrea di Robilant writes, the biggest Wikileak of the Renaissance.

In This Earthly Globe, di Robilant brings to life not just the palace intrigues, editorial wheedling, delicate alliances and vibrant curiosity that resulted in this coup, but also its mastermind, editor Giovambattista Ramusio. Learned and self-effacing, he gathered a vast array of both popular and closely guarded narratives, from the journals of Marco Polo (he fact-checked them!) to detailed reports on Northern African cultures from the Muslim scholar and diplomat al-Hasan ibn Mohammad al-Wazzan (later known as Leo Africanus). Diverse voices spill out from these chapters as di Robilant recounts how Ramusio pursued the sources, and how he understood both the darker episodes
of "exploration" involving colonial violence and the voyage stories that included accounts of people from African and Asian lands, who had a great deal to share about their cultures. The result is a far-flung and delightful homage to one of the founding fathers of modern geography.

Review Quotes

"An extraordinary story that reads more like a thriller than a book about history. A dazzling tale, brilliantly told." --Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads and The Earth Transformed

"Fascinating. . . . di Robilant unveils the diplomatic complications and intrigues of the 'Serene Republic' with care. . . . He also beautifully describes the worlds of literature, translation and publishing that Ramusio inhabited. . . . With attention to detail worthy of his subject, di Robilant shows the world map coming together--piece by piece." --The Wall Street Journal

"A wonderful book, told in an easy and propulsive style and carried by its fascinating central character. . . . Andrea di Robilant marries the intrigue of Europe's most powerful royal courts with the globe-trotting thrill of adventure and discovery. . . . [He] ties together a massive array of fascinating threads through one man's struggle to democratise this rapidly emerging knowledge of the world. . . . di Robilant has reopened a treasury of stories for anyone interested in early European exploration and geography." --Daily Telegraph

"Di Robilant unfolds centuries of history, a dizzying array of characters, and a wide world of geography and culture in an easy storytelling style without falling into a dry recitation of facts and dates. This Earthly Globe offers a broad, accessible narrative about a publication that changed the world as it helped define it." --Shelf Awareness

"We all know the names of the famed explorers from 500 years ago: Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Cortés, Balboa, Magellan, Pizarro. What you may not have known is that the journals of these and other mariners were closely held, thus denying Europeans as full a picture as possible of what the "New World" and Asia were like. Along came a Venetian geographer named Giovambattista Ramusio, a learned and circumspect man who through all manner of guile collected as many journals and accounts as he could and published them anonymously in the 1550s. . . . Andrea di Robilant does his own clever sleuthing to shed light on both Ramusio and his achievement, and the result is the tale of a geographer as thrilling as those of the explorers themselves." --Air Mail

"A deeply researched look at the editor and author of one of the 'great publishing feats' of the 16th century. In this elegant history, di Robilant engagingly traces Ramusio's vast scholarship, which began with his position as an editing assistant to Aldus Manutius, the legendary Venetian publisher of the classics. Working as a clerk in the chancery, then as the secretary to the senate, Ramusio moonlighted as a geographer, helping to publish Strabo's Geography. . . . and [revisited] Marco Polo's journal. An erudite work that shows how one devoted scholar opened up an entire realm of knowledge." --Kirkus Reviews

"Di Robilant combines Ramusio's story of scholarly curiosity and intrigue with vivid retellings of Navigationi's astounding accounts of the people and places in distant lands. . . . Navigationi was an 'unparalleled' release of contemporary, rigorously vetted primary sources--a priceless commodity in an era of fierce geopolitical competition for trade and empire. It was, di Robilant tells us, 'the biggest WikiLeak of the Renaissance.'" --Booklist

"What happens when the whole world-picture changes rapidly and decisively? Who assembles the critical information needed to construct a radically new understanding of the way things are? Thanks to the digital revolution, we have been living through such a disorienting transformation, but it is not the first time that received wisdom has been shattered and in urgent need of reassembling. The epochal voyages of the late 15th and early 16th century tore up the traditional European map of the globe and its inhabitants. Andrea di Robilant's wonderful book explores a succession of thrilling, often terrifying encounters with the other and reconstructs the career of the visionary collector who gave the public access to knowledge of how profoundly their world had changed." --Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

"A treasure trove of exciting tales and adventures, populated by a fascinating cast, that gives a thorough understanding of how Europeans discovered and mapped the other continents." --Paul Strathern, author of The Medici

"Andrea di Robilant takes us on a remarkable voyage of discovery, sharing the story of Giovambattista Ramusio, whose monumental work revolutionised our understanding of the world. The story brims with secrecy and skulduggery, drawing in popes and pirates, and beautifully captures the excitement and tumult of the years when Europeans were filling in the blank spaces on their maps. A great read for history buffs and adventure-seekers alike." --Ross King, author of The Shortest History of Italy

About the Author

ANDREA DI ROBILANT was born in Italy and educated in the United States at Columbia University, where he specialized in international affairs. After a career in journalism, he now teaches creative writing at the American University in Rome. He is the author of A Venetian Affair; Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napoleon; Irresistible North: From Venice To Greenland on the Trail of the Zen Brothers; Chasing the Rose and Autumn in Venice Ernest Hemingway and His Last Muse.