Abstract
On the 5th of April 2018 the Dean of the Faculty of Science prof. RNDr.
Jiří Zima, CSc. received the certificate which corroborates the entry of Renaissance Camocio maps in the prestigious UNESCO Memory of the World Register. The unique war map was published altogether in 4 versions.
It was adjusted from 1 copper plate always according to the current state of battlefield. Versions 1, 3 and 4 are in Maltese Cartographic Collection at the National Museum of Fine Arts Valletta.
The 2nd version of the map, showing the battle with Ottomans for the harbour on the north-east coast of Malta, was discovered in the Map Collection in Prague in 2014. In spite of multiple superiority the Turks suffered defeat.
This victory is still recalled as a national holiday in Malta on the 8th of September. In addition to the world uniqueness the maps are interesting from several points of view: Camocio maps quickly informed Europe about the course of the siege and as the first reported on the defeat of the Turks.
It is an excellent Renaissance work of an important Lafreri Italian School showing in detail turning battle for the Mediterranean. These significant cartographic works were published by famous Venetian publisher Giovanni Francesco Camocio (1501 - 1575).
UNESCO Memory of the World Programme registers 425 documents (to 2018) from all the continents. Regarding cartographic works, there has been registered only 15 maps, atlases and collections containing maps.
The collection of Camocio maps was added to the MoW Register in 2017. An exhibition of the Siege Maps was prepared to promote the entry of the maps in the Memory of the World Register.