1975 Cigheri Pictorial Monumental Map of Sicily, Italy

Tourists' Dinero and the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno.

This is a c. 1975 Aldo Cigheri pictorial map of Sicily, published by the Sicilian regional tourism administration to promote the island's art, architecture, and archaeology. Sicily is here presented as an illustrated exhibition, placing Greek temples, Norman churches, Roman mosaics, and Baroque facades alongside theatrical figures and traditional costumes. Taken as a whole, the map celebrates Sicily's long and variegated history at the center of the Mediterranean world.

A Closer Look

The map covers Sicily, with separate insets for Ustica, the Egadi and Aeolian islands, Pantelleria, and the Pelagian islands of Linosa and Lampedusa. Mount Etna appears on the right in profile, with smoke curling above its summit, but the map otherwise prioritizes cultural attractions and expressions over physical geography. Copious illustrations depict Norman churches (namely the spectacular Duomo in Palermo), Greek temples, necropolises and ancient quarries, Spanish palaces, and Baroque churches and palaces. The map labels cities and towns and traces major connecting roads. The border includes relief-like mythological scenes, mosaic-style figures, and strips of geometric ornamentation.

Sicily's Postwar Transformation

In the post-World War II period, Sicily was changed more dramatically than any other region of Italy. Regional land reforms, peasant land occupations, and widespread outward migration to northern industrial hubs and abroad dismantled the island's archaic latifundia (vast, semi-feudal agricultural estates). As traditional rural tenancy collapsed, state-backed investment through the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno ('Fund for the South') funded crucial transportation infrastructure, enabling cultural and coastal tourism to emerge as a vital alternative economic engine. Destinations such as Taormina, Cefalù, and the Aeolian Islands drew growing numbers of international and domestic vacationers through the 1950s and 1960s, infusing the island with private capital and creating hospitality jobs. This boom redirected labor and revenue from the stagnant inland agricultural interior to the coast, decisively shifting Sicily's economic base from an exploitative feudal framework to a modern, service- and leisure-oriented economy by the mid-1970s.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by Aldo Cigheri and printed by SAIGA in Genoa for the Department of Tourism and Entertainment of the Sicilian Region (Assessorato turismo e spettacolo della Regione Siciliana). It is undated, but was likely issued in the mid-1970s (an alternate printing, handled by A.G.I.S., also of Genoa, is dated in the margin as 1976). We have been unable to find any cataloged examples of this map in institutional collections.

Cartographers

Aldo Cigheri (July 2, 1909 - March 13, 1995) was an Italian pictorial cartographer, graphic designer, and painter based in Genoa and later Carmignano, active from the 1930s into the late 20th century. Born in Genoa to Giulio Cigheri and Emma Cartei, both natives of Carmignano, he belonged to a family of decorators and graduated in painting from Genoa's Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti during the 1930s. He subsequently concentrated on advertising illustration, working for tourist organizations in Liguria and elsewhere in Italy. Cartography became a substantial part of his practice, particularly during the expansion of Italian tourism after World War II. His maps combined geographical information with colorful illustrations of monuments, local products, traditional occupations, and recreational activities, often employing humor and the visual language of cartoons. His output included the 'Carta turistica figurata della Provincia di Genova' (1948), excursion maps of the Ligurian Riviera, and representations of Italian islands, Malta, the Dolomites, and Africa. Closely associated with the Genoese printing firm SAIGA, formerly Barabino and Graeve, he produced work for an international tourist audience, with many Ligurian maps appearing in several languages. Alongside cartography, he designed posters, illustrated publications, and food and wine labels, while continuing to paint watercolors. In the 1970s, he settled permanently in Carmignano, where his commissions included a map of the surrounding district and a poster for the local donkey-racing festival. He died in Prato on March 13, 1995, and was buried in Carmignano. A substantial group of his graphic works passed to the municipality, which named its council chamber after him and exhibited his work in 1998.   Further Details...

Società Anonima Industrie Arti Grafiche ed Affini (S.A.I.G.A.; fl. 1905 - early 1970s) was an Italian commercial printing concern based in Genoa, whose cartographic production encompassed illustrated tourist maps and promotional publications. Established on May 30, 1905, and registered on June 7, it reorganized the printing business of Fratelli Armanino as a joint-stock company under general director Adolfo Armanino. Its antecedent was the Genoese engraving and lithographic establishment of Nicolò Francesco Armanino (July 28, 1810 - July 29, 1866), whose successors developed a diversified printing enterprise. S.A.I.G.A. began with capital of three million lire and opened a Milan branch in 1906 by acquiring the establishment of Wild and Company. Wartime financial pressures led shareholders to resolve upon dissolution on February 20, 1917. Early in 1918, the Genoese business passed to Adolfo Barabino and Francesco Graeve, whose own graphic printing enterprise had been founded in January 1909. Under these successors' ownership, the S.A.I.G.A. name remained associated with tourist publicity and cartographic printing, notably through its collaboration with the Genoese artist Aldo Cigheri (1909 - 1995). These publications combined practical geographical information with pictorial representations intended to promote local destinations. The successor concern remained active into the early 1970s; its historical materials were acquired in 1993 by Genoa's Archivio Storico della Pubblicità.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Upper left corner reattached. Laid down on poster linen.

References

Mangano, Stefania and Pietro Piana, 'Cartografia e promozione del territorio: un approccio analitico-comparativo alle carte turistiche della Liguria del secondo dopoguerra', Bollettino della Associazione Italiana di Cartografia, no. 176 (2022), pp. 139 - 140.