Carta Geologica d'Italia is a tour de force of late nineteenth‑century scientific cartography, created in 1880 by Virano e Teano at a moment when a newly unified Italy was mapping the depths beneath its surface as eagerly as the contours above. Across a grand sweep from the ramparts of the Alps to the volcanic south, the sheet embraces Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, and reaches west to Fréjus in France and east to Fiume—today’s Rijeka—on the Adriatic. An elaborate cartouche crowns the composition, while a radiant palette of colors keys the strata and rock types with exceptional clarity. The effect is both analytical and decorative, revealing a nation’s geological skeleton as a coherent, legible whole.

The map’s color‑coded legend orchestrates a symphony of formations: ancient crystalline cores, metamorphic belts, broad mantles of sediment, and young volcanic provinces. The Alps rise in layered detail, their complex nappes and folded systems rendered with contour lines that suggest both elevation and tectonic drama. Southward, the Apennines form Italy’s stony spine, alternating limestone ridges and flysch basins cascading to the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. Around Naples and Sicily, igneous fields announce Vesuvius and Etna—active laboratories for 19th‑century geologists—while the Apuan Alps hint at the storied marbles of Carrara. Mineral resources are annotated with purpose, underscoring the map’s value to mining, quarrying, and the industrial ambitions of a rapidly modernizing state.

Water, in this rendering, becomes a geological actor. The Po River fans across its alluvial plain, a fertile counterpoint to the stark limestones that line much of the Adriatic rim. The Arno and Tiber carve their way seaward, threading Florence and Rome into the peninsula’s tectonic narrative. The Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, and open Mediterranean are named with cartographic poise, framing the coasts whose shelves and promontories reflect the strata beneath. The Strait of Messina slices between Calabria and Sicily like a tectonic hinge, while the Strait of Bonifacio separates Corsica and Sardinia with a geologist’s logic. Ports and cities—Genoa, Venice, Naples, Palermo, Catania—appear as punctuation marks where geology has shaped harbors, trade, and urban form.

Virano e Teano worked in a period when geology guided nation‑building: tunnels driven beneath Alpine massifs, coastal breakwaters anchored in sound stone, and new boulevards and rail hubs demanded precise knowledge of the ground. The map’s reach to Fréjus evokes the Alpine corridor that linked Italy and France; its eastern glance to Fiume, now Rijeka, recalls the Adriatic’s shifting frontiers. Cities central to the young kingdom—Turin, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Rome—stand within distinct geological provinces that influenced materials, water supplies, and seismic risk. The clearly drawn borders and regional demarcations invite comparisons between political space and geological domain, a dialogue that 19th‑century engineers, miners, and administrators read with avidity.

As mapmakers, Virano e Teano combined disciplined field science with the visual rhetoric of the golden age of Italian cartography. Their thoughtful insets open windows onto complicated districts, the ornate cartouche frames scholarship with flourish, and the meticulous legend teaches as it guides. Created amid a surge of scientific exploration and urban growth, this work distilled a burgeoning national corpus of observations into a single, intelligible image. It is an atlas page and an assay report at once—an object that captures the confidence of its era, and a document that continues to illuminate Italy’s resources, hazards, and the geological logic beneath its cities, coasts, and mountains.

Cities and towns on this map

• Rome
• Milan
• Naples
• Turin
• Florence
• Bologna
• Genoa
• Venice
• Bari
• Palermo
• Catania
• Bastia
• Ajaccio
• Cagliari
• Sassari
• Fiume (Rijeka, Croatia at present)

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Color-coded geological layers: Each layer represents different geological materials.
• Detailed mountain ranges: Including the Alps, with contour lines indicating elevation.
• Bodies of water: The Adriatic Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, and Mediterranean Sea are clearly marked.
• Legend: A detailed key explaining the colors and symbols used for geological features.
• Borders: Clearly delineated national and regional boundaries.
• Inset maps: Smaller sections that provide a more localized view of specific areas.
• Cartouche: An ornate decorative element containing the title and additional details.

Historical and design context

• Map Title: Carta Geologica d'Italia
• Date of Creation: 1880
• Mapmaker/Publisher: Virano e Teano
• Extent: Includes the Alps, Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily; extends to Frejus (France) and Fiume (now Rijeka) in Croatia.
• Context: Produced during a period of significant scientific exploration and urbanization.
• Themes/Use: Geological formations, mineral resources, and topographical features; crucial for mining, construction, and understanding natural resources.
• Design/Style: Elaborate cartouche and vibrant color coding to represent different geological materials and terrains.
• Historical Significance: Reflects late 19th-century advances in geological science and informed Italy’s resource management and infrastructure development.

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This is a very large map that must be ordered at a large size, so that you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 90in (230cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

For most orders, delivery time is about 3 working days. Personalised and customised products take longer, as I have to do the personalisation and send it to you for approval, which usually takes 1 or 2 days.

Please note that very large framed orders usually take longer to make and deliver. 

If you need your order to arrive by a certain date, please contact me before you order so that we can find the best way of making sure you get your order in time.

I print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world. This means your order will be made locally, which cuts down on delivery time and ensures that it won't be damaged during delivery. You'll never pay customs or import duty, and we'll put less CO2 into the air.

All of my maps and art prints are well packaged and sent in a rugged tube if unframed, or surrounded by foam if framed.

I try to send out all orders within 1 or 2 days of receiving your order, though some products (like face masks, mugs and tote bags) can take longer to make.

If you select Express Delivery at checkout your order we will prioritise your order and send it out by 1-day courier (Fedex, DHL, UPS, Parcelforce).

Next Day delivery is also available in some countries (US, UK, Singapore, UAE) but please try to order early in the day so that we can get it sent out on time.

Read my full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

Alcune delle mie vecchie mappe sono ora disponibili come tele incorniciate. Per favore contattami se desideri ordinare una dimensione che non è disponibile nel mio negozio.

Le vecchie mappe su tela sono un'alternativa interessante alle mappe incorniciate in modo convenzionale. A seconda del tuo gusto personale e dell'arredamento della stanza, le mappe su tela possono "risaltare" un po' di più rispetto a una mappa incorniciata.

Scopri di più sulle mie mappe su tela incorniciate.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

Se non sei soddisfatto del tuo ordine per qualsiasi motivo, contattami per un rimborso senza problemi. Si prega di consultare la nostra politica di reso e rimborso per ulteriori informazioni.

Sono molto sicuro che ti piacerà la tua mappa restaurata o la stampa d'arte. Lo faccio dal 1984. Sono un venditore Etsy a 5 stelle. Ho venduto decine di migliaia di mappe e stampe d'arte e ho oltre 5.000 recensioni reali a 5 stelle.

Utilizzo un processo unico per restaurare mappe e opere d'arte che richiede molto tempo e lavoro. Trovare le mappe e le illustrazioni originali può richiedere mesi. Utilizzo tecnologia all'avanguardia e incredibilmente costosa per scannerizzare e restaurarle. Di conseguenza, garantisco che le mie mappe e stampe d'arte siano superiori alle altre - ecco perché posso offrire un rimborso senza problemi.

Quasi tutte le mie mappe e stampe d'arte sembrano fantastiche a grandi dimensioni (200 cm, 6,5 piedi+) e posso anche incorniciarle e consegnarle a te, tramite un corriere speciale per oggetti di grandi dimensioni. Contattami per discutere delle tue esigenze specifiche.