Planos de fortificaciones mediterráneas y de ultramar en la colección Medinaceli

Abstract

The Dukes of Medinaceli have a historical archive extremely rich which comprises documentation pertaining to the several noble houses that have been added to it from as early as the Middle Age. Among these it exists an extensive collection of maps and plans, which recently have been thoroughly analised by a research team of scholars linked to the R & D project of Spanish excellence (Mineco HAR2013-41500-P). Thanks to this later improvement in our knowledge, we now know that this material includes iconographic representations of Mediterranean fortresses in Northern Africa, such as Taranto, Tripoli or Los Gelves (Yerba), and of Spanish ones, such as Monjuïtc, the bastion of San Francisco (Barcelona), the coast of Denia and others. Among the papers pertaining to the Medinaceli archive, there are also several representations of the Andalusian coast (e.g. Tarifa, Bolonia, El Puerto de Santa María, etc.) and of other fortifications from across the Atlantic (e.g. the fortress of San Carlos in Portobelo, Panama). This rich collection of maps and plans will be our main focus in this contribution.