The Ciotori Collection: A Remarkable Legacy of European Cartography

In 1932, Dimitrie N. Ciotori, a jurist, politician and diplomat, donated his collection of 74 cartographic items to the Library of the Romanian Academy

Steliu Lambru, 01.11.2026, 14:00

Born in 1885, Ciotori was an English speaker and the author of texts about Romania through which he sought to introduce his country to the English-speaking world.
Following the establishment of the communist regime in 1945, Ciotori was expelled from the Romanian Academy. He left Romania and settled in London, United Kingdom, where he died in 1965, aged 79.
Until 2026, the collection bearing his name had remained unknown to the public. The identification of 70 of its items has finally made it possible, after years of dedicated scholarly work, to bring these exceptionally valuable maps to public attention.
Mariana Radu, of the Prints, Music and Maps Department at the Library of the Romanian Academy, presented 40 cartographic items from the Ciotori donation.

Mariana Radu:“Almost all of them — 99 per cent — are maps dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, representing the Dutch, French, German and English schools of cartography, created by renowned mapmakers. In my view, this collection was assembled with the assistance of a specialist who advised Ciotori. It brings together some of the most important cartographers of the period, their most valuable works, and some of the finest examples in terms of aesthetic beauty.”

The maps in the Ciotori collection offer a fascinating account of the evolution of cartography. Some date from a time when mapmaking was regarded as an art in its own right, while those produced in subsequent centuries reveal the transition towards a more scientific discipline, grounded in field measurements and astronomical observations. The eighteenth-century maps bear witness to the growing professionalisation of cartography, the standardisation of its practices and increasing levels of accuracy. It was also during this century that national mapping projects emerged as instruments of more effective governance, serving military and administrative purposes, fiscal control and infrastructure management. France would become a pioneer in this field.

Among the highlights of the remarkable Ciotori collection are maps depicting the Romanian lands and the wider region historically inhabited by Romanians.

Mariana Radu:“The first map in the collection dates from 1513. It was created by Johannes Schott, a German cartographer, based on a book inspired by Ptolemy’s Geography. Dating from 1555, another item is a woodcut map of Transylvania. Nine further maps were published in various editions of Abraham Ortelius’s atlas, which appeared in 25 editions over the years. The most valuable of these is a map of Europe, on the reverse of which a note in Spanish states that only 100 copies were printed for the whole of Europe. We do not know exactly how many have survived. Another particularly fascinating item is a map of Dacia, drawn by Ortelius himself and published alongside a map of the Ottoman Empire in a supplement to the first edition of his landmark atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in 1570. The atlas appeared in five editions, featuring maps personally prepared by Ortelius on the basis of his own studies of ancient geography.”

Who supplied cartographers with their information? Navigators, scientists, military personnel and merchants all played a part.
The maps depict the European continent, European and Eurasian empires, and various European regions. They were often embellished with vignettes and illustrations portraying settlements and distinctive local features. Mariana Radu noted that regional maps of Europe also depicted local political entities.

Mariana Radu:“Another particularly interesting item is a map of Transylvania, an elegant black-and-white copper engraving. It is one of the earliest maps to circulate as a standalone printed sheet in Europe. Such maps were also included in atlases, but this is among the first to have circulated independently.The donation includes four maps by NicolaesVisscher II, among them a map of Hungary and an exceptionally valuable map entitled Exactissima, comprising two sections covering the lower and upper courses of the Danube. These maps recorded territorial changes and were updated to reflect shifting borders. This particular map was produced following the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699.The collection also includes Nouvelle Carte de la Mer Noir, an exceptionally beautiful map of the Black Sea.”

The leading cartographers of the eighteenth century also turned their attention to the Romanian lands.

Mariana Radu: “Gerard Valk produced a map of the Romanian Principalities, carefully organised from an administrative perspective. It depicts fortifications, as well as villages and monasteries scattered across the landscape.
Another map was created by a cartographer and geographer who, in 1774, published a map of Hungary, Transylvania and Moldavia — encompassing the Romanian provinces — as well as a map of the Ottoman Empire showing the maritime routes across the Mediterranean. MatthäusSeutter was a highly renowned German cartographer, celebrated for his Baroque style. His works include a map of Hungary featuring the Romanian Principalities and the Banat region.

Johann Baptist Homann, together with his family, built a cartographic empire. Alongside his relatives and successors, he published numerous maps and earned considerable recognition for the accuracy of his work. Among his notable productions are a map of Transylvania, published in 1716, a map of Ukraine and Wallachia, and a map of the Balkans.”
The Ciotori map collection at the Library of the Romanian Academy captivates the eye with the diversity of its holdings, the illustrious names of its cartographers and, last but certainly not least, the sheer beauty of the maps themselves.

(bill)