ITALY. Venezia (Venice). Marco Foscarini, 1762-1763. Osella 1762 Anno I (Silver, 37 mm, 9.71 g, 12 h). PICTIS VENETORUM ITINERIBUS AULA EXORNATA / MDCCLXII / VET•M• Female allegory seated facing on throne, resting her arm Fra Mauro's Mappa Mundi displaying the Adriatic Sea, holding hand squares, compasses and clutching a quadrant. Rev. MARCI / FOSCARENI / PRINCIPIS / MUNUS / ANNO•I within cartouche, corno ducale above. CNI 55. Montenegro 2855 Paolucci 245. Very rare and beautifully toned. Minor doubling and tiny marks, otherwise, good extremely fine.


This Osella was issued to mark the restoration of the Hall of Arms (Sala dello Scudo) in the Doge’s Palace, where historic maps and globes are displayed as treasured artifacts of the seafaring republic. The allegorical figure of Cartography on the obverse rests upon the world map (Mappa Mundi) created by the Camaldolese monk Fra Mauro in 1458 - a masterpiece that, at the time of its making, embodied the full scope of European geographical knowledge.