Fra Mauro was a 15th century Italian Camaldulian monk from the island of Murano near Venice. He was also a mapmaker, who in 1457 mapped the totality of the Old world with surprising accuracy, including extensive written comments reflecting the geographic knowledge of his time.

Fra Mauro created the map with his assistant Andrea Bianco, a sailor-cartographer, under a commission by king Alfonso V of Portugal. The map was completed on April 24, 1459, and sent to Portugal, but didn't survive. Fra Mauro died the next year while he was making a copy of the map for the Seignory of Venice, and the copy was completed by Andrea Bianco. A contemporary commemorative medal in honour of his cartographic work describes Fra Mauro as "geographus incomparabilis".

The Fra Mauro crater and associated Fra Mauro formation of the Moon are named after him; they were visited by the Apollo 14 astronauts.