Bob Hansen 13

While recently in Florence, Italy I was able to visit the Museo Galileo, formerly the Institute and Museum of the History of Science).  Hosting one of the world’s major collections of scientific instruments in an 11th century building, there are two rooms dedicated to “The Representation of the World”. Within these two rooms contains an impressive collection of celestial and terrestrial globes.

This globe by Willem Jansz Blaeu was completed in 1617, but not printed until 1622. [this example was published in 1630]  The delay permitted Blaeu to incorporate the new discoveries by Dutch explorers.  Here, California is not depicted as an island.

One of the few non-globes included this facsimile world map.  The original Fra’ Mauro world map was made in Murano between 1457 and 1459 and is located in the Biblioteca Marciana of Venice.

This facsimile in Florence, is still very well done, however.

From the museum’s website is the full version of the map: https://catalogue.museogalileo.it/gallery/WorldMap.html