Cartography and Breaking News: Mapping the Great Siege of Malta

Abstract

This article explores Renaissance news maps and their cultural impact, focusing on works produced during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, a media event of unprecedented scope that became a laboratory for the genre’s development. News maps were a key early form of reporting—a visual form—that, much like their textual counterparts, aimed to shape public views about conflict. Ultimately, these relatively modest items even influenced commemorative battle murals in halls of state. This study of news maps suggests an emerging media landscape that was highly pluralistic and experimental, going well beyond the written word.