FLORENCE.- Cornelis De Jode’s terrestrial globe, an extremely rare example of historical cartography made in Antwerp in 1594, and a paper astrolabe, dated 1668 and possibly made in northern France, are now on view at Museo Galileo in Florence, Italy. On September 6, 2023, the exquisitely crafted scientific instruments were presented to the public by Stefano Casciu, Regional Director of Museums for Tuscany, Roberto Ferrari, Executive Director of the Museo Galileo, and Polissena Brandolini d’Adda, representing Friends of Florence. The Friends of Florence foundation supported the globe’s restoration thanks to a generous contribution from the Eric and Maxine Greenspan family.
Florence’s Ministry of Culture recently acquired the objects on behalf of the Regional Director of Museums for Tuscany which, in turn, loaned them to the Museo Galileo on a permanent basis. The Museo Galileo conducted the scholarship certifying their impact on the development of scientific discovery.
The two instruments are on display in a dedicated showcase alongside Philippe-Claude Le Bas’s Gregorian reflecting telescope (c. 1720), another item acquired by the Ministry of Culture in 2022. They will then be incorporated as new highlights of the museum’s permanent collection.
