Building on the theoretical foundations expressed in the scientific debate on historical-cartographic studies, this chapter offers a series of reflections on Venetian cartography between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries through a semiotic reading of selected maps and nautical charts. It highlights how these maps and charts were practical tools for managing the mainland and the sea, as well as means of asserting the political, social, cultural, and economic power of the Serenissima. Venetian cartographic production encompasses various representational-illustrative types, ranging from Isolari to travel itineraries, from nautical charts (carte da navigare) to chorographic, administrative, and micro-regional maps (carte da terra), each suited to fulfilling one of the many functions of the state or addressing the interests and needs of private individuals. Each map and nautical chart represents a reality of coexistence, whose interpretation and decoding require a multidisciplinary approach to uncover not only the geographical meaning of the maps and nautical charts but also their “figurative logos”, i.e. their signifiers.