The first ghetto was established in 1516 in Venice, Italy. Jewish residents were forced to live in a small industrial area by the government and locked in at night. Here is a picture of a ghetto map from I took while there a few weeks ago.  According to the sign Jews were only allowed to work as doctors, money lenders or second hand clothing sellers. The ghetto was expanded to two squares, the Ghetto Vecchio (old, which is actually the newer one) and Nuovo (new). After the French took over Venice in 1797, Jews were finally allowed to freely move about the city but this area remained a center of Jewish culture. It still is despite most of Venice’s Jews having been murdered in the Holocaust. There are still a handful of restaurants and places of worship. The origins of the word ghetto are disputed. It could mean foundry, street, little town or “throw away” depending on which theory you choose. Here is a simplified (but also hard to read) map of the area by artist Gianluca Costantini.

There was no Map of the Week last week. That is because I was on vacation in northern Italy with my wife and brother in law who provided some local knowledge and translation services. A typical vacation for me involves taking pictures of interesting maps I find along the way. There are at least a couple of blog posts worth of these maps. Here is a tapestry map (a mapestry?) I saw in the airport in Venice.   Often there is an interesting story behind the maps that is not obvious at first glance. Especially when the map is hanging on the way to the airport security line where one cannot linger for long. This tapestry was commissioned by the Italian Olympic Committee to hang in Casa Italia, the residence that hosted Italy’s athletes in Paris for the 2024 Olympics. Giovanni Bonotto, creative director of textile manufacturer Fabrica Lenta directed the project. It was woven on wooden mechanical shuttle looms dating from 1956. It The map showcases Italian innovators, architecture, industry, regional products and food. At the bottom left corner is a list of regional dishes. Artificial Intelligence was used to design the icons on the map. The entire tapestry is made from recycled plastic yarn as a tribute to the circular economy. Appropriately the map, showing Marco Polo now hangs in the Venice Marco Polo Airport.  You can see a video of Bonotto’s process here.

I found this tool six years ago and meant to post it but forgot until now. Fortunately it still works and is still pretty cool. You can click anywhere in the United States and trace the path of a raindrop to the ocean. I chose a random point northwest of White River City in western Colorado. River Runner is a tool from Sam Learner, a graphic journalist from the Financial Times. After it loads, you will get a fly through video tracing the raindrop's path. Here it is flowing down the Green River after passing through "Unnamed River" then Crooked Wash and then the White River. The red on the full USA map marks where you are at any given moment in the fly through. Here is the river as it approaches the Grand Canyon, and here it is in the agricultural landscape along the Arizona-California border. Unfortunately since this river goes into Mexico before flowing into the sea, the path is detained at the border (this is no longer true see update below). To see an example of a river's mouth here is the Mississippi flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. Don't expect a precise level of detail. I clicked at my house and it picked a point about a mile away where the flow to the nearest river is a bit different from where I am. It also got the name of a nearby lake wrong. Go here to see your local journey. UPDATE: River Runner is now a global phenomenon! You can now cross borders and go anywhere!

Malin and Mizen is a company that makes specialty maps like the California Surf Map   I love the wavy lines and details showing ideal wind and swell directions, coordinates, shark sightings, etc. The hand drawn details on the land are also very nice.  The company is named for Malin and Mizen Head, the northernmost and southernmost points in Ireland. Here you can see North Malin from the Irish Surf Map.  They make maps for different sports, history and beer and wine. Here is part of the Irish Pub Map. The x indicates where hot food is available.  Here is some detail from the California Vineyard Map, the letters indicate grape types and the other symbols are for visiting and tasting information.  There are also many swimming and golf maps.  Other surf maps include Australia with its varied topography. Kangaroos and ostriches dot the land.  Finally, closer to home (for me) is New Jersey.

Is this a map, a landscape painting or a beautiful piece of propaganda? This panoramic map was produced at the beginning of the 1900’s in London by W. H. Payne for Letts, Son & Co., a British stationary and map seller. The perspective is from a hilltop in British India, now Pakistan, overlooking Afghanistan. Two British soldiers in the foreground are looking out over Kandahar and other lands yet to conquer. In the far distance, along the Amu Darya (once known as Oxus River) lies the boundary of Russian territory. The Great Game was an 18th Century rivalry between the British and Russian Empires. This map was produced in that milieu with both sides vying for control over central Asia. The British aimed to create a protectorate in Afghanistan to prevent Russia from having access to the Persian Gulf or the Arabian Sea. Eventually borders were agreed upon but not entirely as seen below. The line along the western frontier is boundary of Persia, now Iran. The dominant mountain in the far distance looks a bit fanciful but may be inspired some of the peaks around Azhdar National Park. After failing to conquer these lands the British eventually settled for Afghanistan as an independent buffer state between the empires.