Description:

Burgueño, Jesús (2023): “Cartografia diocesana a Espanya (1570-1900)”. Documents d’Anàlisi Geogràfica, núm. 69/3, setembre 2023, p.563-588, https://dag.revista.uab.cat/article/view/v69-n3-burgueno

The representation of territorial divisions is a mainstream of Cartography. The maps of the demarcations of the Catholic Church—dioceses and ecclesiastical provinces—constitute a very widespread subgenre in Europe. In Spain, diocesan cartography generated maps of great interest and quality. This modality developed a specific religious iconography. In addition, numerous diocesan maps were drawn up by clergy or people close to the curia. The oldest regional map in Spain, the Conventus Hispalensis by Jerónimo de Chaves (original c.1570), corresponds to the Archdiocese of Seville. From then until 1900 (when two large maps with the ecclesiastical demarcation of the whole of Spain were finally published), there is news of 123 diocesan maps, of which only eight refer to the whole country (and three of them are foreign). In this production, the contributions of the geographer Tomás López and those of España sagrada should be highlighted.