portolano

[ pawr-tl-ah-noh, pohr- ]

noun,plural por·to·la·nos, por·to·la·ni

[pawr-tl-ah-nee, pohr-]. /ˌpɔr tlˈɑ ni, ˌpoʊr-/.

a descriptive atlas of the Middle Ages, giving sailing directions and providing charts showing rhumb lines and the location of ports and various coastal features.

Origin of portolano

1855–60; <Italian: shipmaster's guidebook; earlier, harbor master <Medieval Latin portulānus.See port¹, -ule, -an

In the fourteenth century the map of Edrisi was superseded by the new Italian plans and coast-charts, or Portolani.
Prince Henry the Navigator, the Hero of Portugal and of Modern Discovery, 1394-1460 A.D. | C. Raymond Beazley
Strictly scientific map-making begins with the Mediterranean portolani.
The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea | Gomes Eannes de Azurara
Nor do the earliest portolani contain any compass-roses or wind-roses.
The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea | Gomes Eannes de Azurara
This is the most remarkable of all the Portolani of the fourteenth century.
The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea | Gomes Eannes de Azurara

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