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Atlas "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" by Abraham Ortelius

The work Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by the erudite and Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598) is believed to be the first real Atlas in History, because it is the first systematic and comprised collection of maps which shows a uniform style.On the back of each map, he included a description of each of the regions and countries as well as some information about their climate, gastronomy, customs, etc.

Ortelius´s contemporary erudites, such as Gerardus Mercator or Georg Braun, and many other ones, praised the Theatrum due to its magnificent accuracy and they started to imitate its format. That is the way the cartography adopted the concept of “Atlas”.

In 1575 Felipe II of Spain (to whom Ortelius dedicates his work) named him “Real Cosmographer of His Majesty”. It is said that the king always kept his own copy of the Atlas by Ortelius close at hand, maybe because he was looking for new places to conquer, or to get further information about his extensive dominions, many of which he never knew in person.

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