Blaeu's terrestrial globe (XVII Century)

3D Model

This terrestrial globe is part of the University of Genoa cultural heritage and conserved in Palazzo Balbi Cattaneo. It was made by the dutchman Willem Jansz Blaeu (1571–1638), author of particularly valuable celestial and terrestrial globes. This globe consists of an empty wooden sphere, covered with a thin layer of plaster on which spindle-shaped strips of printed paper are glued.

The globe was dated by Prof. Corradino Astengo of the University of Genoa to the 5th decade of XVII Century due to the fact that Tasmania and New Zealand, reached in 1643 by Abel Tasman, are already depicted, the coasts of Australia (New Holland) are not fully charted and California is still represented as an island.

Indigenous populations and animals are also depicted, together with sea monsters, mythological courts and sailing ships.

This model was realized by Stefano Schiaparelli, using images taken by photographer Alberto Baschiera, afferent to the Unige e-Learning and multimedia Service.