On Friday, we visited the Vatican Museum, the second largest museum in the world!

While we were there, we saw legendary works such as Michael Angelo’s Sistine Chapel, Raphael’s School of Athens, and countless other gorgeous pieces. My favorite piece was the “Celestial Globe” painted by Giovanni Antonio Vanosio in 1567. The globe is a hollow, wooden sphere decorated with oil paint and set upon a brass frame.

The surface of the globe depicts a whimsical yet accurate view of the Ptolemaic constellations visible in the Northern sky. When it was made, this globe would have been considered state of the art technology. Up until the end of the 16th century, Astronomers believed Ptolemy’s observations and conclusions about the stars to be the absolute truth. Over time, new astronomers became more skilled at observing and cataloging the heavens with the help of  telescopes, forgotten knowledge in the Middle East, and Occam’s Razor.

Although it is obsolete today, I think the color, detail and accuracy of this piece is absolutely stunning. If I’m ever lucky enough to visit Rome again, the Vatican Museum will definitely be the first place I’ll revisit.