Both maps below show Italy highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates Italy about 1.9× at 43°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 302,068 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.9× inflation is why Italy dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover Italy on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
Italy: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| Italy | 302,068 km² | 559,581 km² | 1.9× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew Italy at about 559,581 km². The truth is 302,068 km², a difference of 85% that school atlases carried for centuries.