Historical maps of the islands and the city of Ibiza.

This section contains a number of historical maps selected from those which are kept in the General Archives of Simancas and the Historical Map Library of the Ministry of War. The full list, including those which can be found in the Madrid Naval Museum, appears at the end of the section.

These documents, the majority of them hitherto unpublished, were prepared by engineers some of whom, such as Juan Bautista Calvi, Jacobo Fratin, Berenguer and Poulet, were either the planners or ... ( "los directores de las obras de fortificación de la ciudad de Ibiza").

Also included in this guide by virtue of their interest, are historical facts contained therein concerning the islands.

The first eight maps are descriptions of Ibiza and Formentera, showing parishes and sites, in which the fortifications of the city of Ibiza are prominently featured. The first, with measurements and descriptive notes in the manner of a post-survey report, coincides in date, script and calligraphy with the plan by the engineer Juan Bautista Calvi, entitled "II Ritratto Grande della Forteza de Iviza", and could have been drawn by him on the same occassion when he visited the islands prior to his project for the renaissance city walls.

The ninth plan and those following are ground plans and sections of the city of Ibiza, and together they illustrate the city's transformation through her history. Numbers XVIII, XIX and XX correspond to projects for the port. Others show the state of the fortifications and projects for fortified redoubts the surroundings of the same sites, and significant buildings.

The plates of the plans are accompanied with legends showing the most legible indications on them.

Given the necessary reduction of the originals, the selection has the value of an illustrated catalogue. Those readers interested in examining the maps in greater detail should consult them in the archives where they are kept.