this is the first of many posts from the science history museum in florence (museo di storia della scienza) – an armillary sphere (sfera armillare) representing the entire earth and plotting the extents of the sky in carved and guilded wood. commissioned by ferdinando 1 de’medici and built by antonio santucci in florence in 1588-1593 it represents parts of the globe that were still unknown – as well as a gorgeous set of global coordinates.