Giacomo Gastaldi was born in Villafranca in Piemonte. He lived and worked in Venice from 1539 to his death in October 1566 and became the most influential cartographer on the Italian peninsula, culminating in his nomination as Cosmographer to the Republic of Venice. One hundred nine cartographic publications by Gastaldi have been traced. Among his more important works is the large map of Africa on eight sheets published in 1564. The stamp from Bophuthatswana shows the entire continent of Africa.

     The sheet from St. Helena shows the portion of the map off the coast of southern Africa with many fish and the island of St. Helena in the lower right hand quadrant.

     The map on the Bermuda stamp is based on the map, Terra Neuva, published in Giacomo Gastaldi's edition of Ptoloemy's Geographia, 1548. The island of Bermuda appears in the lower left corner of the stamp under the "N" in "QUINCENTENNIAL."