Historically, the development of highly accurate, detailed topographic maps has largely been driven by military requirements. Army map reading training developed to a high degree of proficiency ...

German tourists can now obtain a map of Sicily's capital Palermo flagging the shops that refuse to pay extortion money to the Mafia, the German embassy in Rome said in a statement Thursday.

Army map reading training developed to a high degree of proficiency for the same reason. It was not until the mid-19th century that maps were available to armies in useful quantities.