 Tycho Brahe's astronomic observatory |
The vault of heaven has been represented by a sphere since very ancient times. The celestial sphere made of wood or metal serves to demonstrate the structure of the universe, with the positions and the orbits of the heavenly bodies shown by rings (armillae in Latin, from which comes "armillary sphere"). In addition to the many examples of armillary spheres, this room contains the printed celestial globes with their twin world spheres of the major European constructors of the period 1500-1700 (Blaeuw, Greuter, Coronelli, de L'Isle, etc.), true masterpieces of the arts of cartography and typography. The center of the room is dominated by the imposing armillary sphere by Antonio Santucci delle Pomarance (latter half of the sixteenth century), with the geography of the earth shown, according to the Ptolemaic system, in central position. Completed in 1593, this sphere was a monumental astronomical construction. By turning a crank whose axis traverses the sphere passing through the Earth it was possible to simulate the motion of the stars. |