A fellow researcher kindly sent me a copy of his paper regarding the “Enigmatic Chart” by Baldassare (Maiolo) Maggiolo, dated 1589 which appears to be drawn as four atlas pages each rotated 90 degrees from the next thus forming a rotating vista. That original text (q.v.) is predicated upon pixel measurements which to my draughtsman skills implies accuracy far in excess of that achievable in the 16th century, and does not allow for the vagaries of the charts actual drawing which was to be explored. My interest was thus piqued and I decided to explore the charts inner working and format which was made even more fascinating as the original text included a thumbnail copy of the Munich chart from Sir Robert Dudley’s Dell’Arcano del Mare. That original text stated “une carte tres similiare”, but then ignored it.
Thus there are two “enigmatic charts” which together may answer the question regarding their extraordinary presentation I therefore explore both, and with their idiosyncrasies endeavour to explain their raison d’être. The original text, chart and Munich chart are appendix notes.

This text contains 9, A4 pages and also 30, A4 diagrams.

Bartolomeu Olives is the younger brother of Jaume olives and has Portolan charts to his name dating from 1538 to 1588. They are mostly drawn in Messina Sicily, but he/they commenced in Majorca and had a brief foray to Venice. This 1584 chart is held by BNF Paris, Departement of Cartes and Plans, reference CPL GE B-1133 (res), and is an extraordinary compilation. Excluding the standard toponyms it is scattered with Kings, Dukes and large writ place-names which at first sight are a strange combination.
This text analyses the chart as drawn technically and then endeavours to unravel the reasoning behind these place-names and in the process finds a 1500 year history lesson with a rather chilling raison d’être of persecution and conquest written there-on.
The text contains 12 A4 pages and 25(29) A4 (A3) diagrams