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The analysis of a manuscript atlas of the State of Milan at the Biblioteca del Palacio Real of Madrid, allows to analyze its content in relation to its printed version in 1707. The study of both versions, dedicated to Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), as well as the analysis of the catalogs of the prince's library, have allowed to determine his collector interests, even in cartographic collections related to the Iberian Peninsula. The article also analyses the professional trajectory of its author, the Milan engineer Giovanni Battista Sesti (1633 - ca. 1725), in the service of the Spanish crown. ; El análisis de un atlas manuscrito del Estado de Milán, conservado en la Biblioteca del Palacio Real de Madrid, permite analizar su contenido en relación a su versión impresa en 1707. El estudio de ambas versiones, dedicadas al príncipe Eugenio de Saboya (1663-1736), así como el análisis de los catálogos de la biblioteca del príncipe, han per­mitido determinar sus intereses coleccionistas, incluso en obras cartográficas relacionadas con la península ibérica. El artículo ahonda también en la trayectoria profesional de su artífice, el ingeniero milanés Giovanni Battista Sesti (1633 - ca. 1725) al servicio de la corona española.

Efficiency and maintenance of the defensive apparatus was systematically entrusted to engineers-architects, often involved in tasks very different from each other. In the case of the dominions of the Hispanic monarchy, technicians were committed to the idea of interacting with urban issues on a large territorial scale. The necessary interventions to ensure the defences efficiency of the territories determined the periodic displacement of the military technicians from strength to strength, involved in new missions that responded to the priorities of the cities, aiming at improve their fortifications. This contribution tries to construct or make known new biographical data on the technicians who participated in the fortifications sponsored by the Habsburgs. The archival sources shed new light on the figure and activity of Milanese engineer Giovanni Paolo Sesti and that of his son, Giovanni Battista, technicians specialized in military works between Italy and Spain.

En Sicilia, sobre todo después de la visita de Carlos V empieza –junto con la necesidad de transformar la isla en una fortaleza– el desarrollo de una cartografía militar controlada por la Corona española. Diferentes ingenieros-arquitectos representan las ciudades costeras del Reino a través de planos, mapas y descripciones como la de Fra Tiburzio Spannocchi (1578) y Camillo Camiliani (1584). En este artículo, después de reconstruir sintéticamente el panorama cartográfico siciliano, queremos hacer mención a aquellos atlas que, alejándose de propósitos ligados simplemente a factores militares, podrían ser contemplados como fuente de placer por parte de sus mecenas. Dentro de este escenario aparece como protagonista la obra cartográfica Teatro Geográfico antiguo y moderno del Reyno de Sicilia de 1686 que –a través de su representación gráfica– responde a una nueva cultura barroca y al mismo tiempo se presenta como precursora de unas obras formadas por un équipe de artistas autores del Voyage pittoresque del siglo XVIII. ; In Sicily, mostly after the visit of Charles V began –along with the need to transform the island into a fortress– the development of military cartography controlled by the Spanish Crown. Different engineersarchitects represent the coastal cities of the Kingdom through drawings, maps and descriptions like Tiburzio Spannocchi (1578) and Camillo Camiliani (1584). In this article, after rebuilding synthetically the landscape of the Sicilian cartography, we want to mention those atlases that, departing from simply military purposes, could be seen as a source of pleasure by their patrons. Within this scenario is leading the cartographic work Teatro Geografico antiguo y moderno del Reyno de Sicilia from 1686, which – through its graphical representation– responds to a new Baroque culture and is presented as a precursor of works by a team of artists, authors of the Voyage pittoresque of the eighteenth century.