ABSTRACT
Gastaldi emphasizes the existence of a great lake in the heart of the continent labelled ‘Zaire-Zembere’ from which not only the Nile but most of the other major African rivers originate. A closer examination of his depiction of central Africa immediately reveals that, in addition to the large Zaire-Zambere lake, Gastaldi designed a second smaller lake named Zaflam, which, being symmetrically opposite the main one at the same latitude, also contributes to the source of the Nile. Like Waldseemiiller, Gastaldi and other sixteenth-century cartographers, they were content to use Abyssinian place names to fill the gap of real knowledge concerning the inner landmass of Africa, rather than to admit their ignorance as regards the geography of these regions. The outline of Africa exhibited in Ptolemy’s world map was completely updated at the beginning of the sixteenth century as a result of contemporary nautical experience acquired by the Portuguese.
