VMs: Locating the nine-rosette map...

[Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,

Here's another way of possibly relating the nine-rosette "map" page to the 
real world.

If my identification of the VMS' castle with Imola's Rocca Sforza is 
correct, then perhaps we should note Imola's strategic importance circa 
1500: if you had an army to move, there were only two roads linking 
northern Italy (ie, Milan, Venice) with central Italy (Rome, Florence) - 
one via Tuscany, and the other via Imola and Forli.

At many times during the turbulent years 1490-1500, Caterina Sforza used 
this leverage to maintain a delicate balance of power between the Pope (in 
the south) and (for example) the French King (in the north).

Could it simply be that the VMS' map page simply reflects this choice of 
roads, with the four corner rosettes representing the directions of the 
compasses?

The castle rosette would then be East (as Imola is not far from the east 
coast), the faint Filaretian tower approaching the Northern rosette could 
be Milan (with the road going off from there into the top of the page could 
indicate Venice), the Southern rosette would be Rome (or perhaps Sicily?), 
and the Western rosette (with the so-called "clock") would be Tuscany.

It's possible that we could associate further places with items on this 
page, to try to (dis)prove this demonstrably. :-)

Cheers, .....Nick Pelling.....