Composite map of the first ring of four sheets around the north pole, the second ring of 8 sheets, the third ring of 12 sheets, the fourth ring of 18 sheets, the fifth ring of 18 sheets, and the legends and diagrams in the four corners.

Urbano Monte’s map gives a very detailed and accurate picture of the whole “globe”, although it was made only 95 years after the discovery of America.

This map is originally more than 10 feet by 10 feet when fully assembled.
For the last 430 years, its 60 individual sheets were bound together as an atlas, but now they have finally been put together—digitally—to reveal a complete picture of the world as it was understood at the time.

The map is packed with fantastical creatures, from unicorns in Siberia to mermen frollicking in the Southern Ocean and a terrifying bird flying off with an elephant in its talons.
The map reflects the geographical knowledge (and misconceptions) of its time, but in some ways it’s surprisingly advanced. It portrays the Earth as it would be seen looking directly down on the North Pole from space, a perspective not commonly used by mapmakers until the 20th century.

Monte made his map to serve not only as a geographical tool but also to show climate, customs, length of day, distances within regions - in other words, to create a universal scientific planisphere