The Biggest Armillary Sphere: Unveiling the Astronomical Marvel

A Cosmic Journey within the Galileo Museum in Florence: the Ptolemaic armillary sphere built in 1588–1593 by Antonio Santucci.

A close-up view of the Ptolemaic armillary sphere at the Galileo Museum in Florence, Italy. Photo by Gabriella Bernardi

There was a time when the creation of scientific models and their communication were entrusted not only to artisans but also to true artists.

This is the case of this gigantic Ptolemaic armillary sphere built in 1588–1593 by Antonio Santucci.

In Room III-IV of the Museo Galileo in Florence, this extraordinary astronomical object of enormous evocative power is still found today.

A glimpse of the world’s largest armillary sphere, nestled within Room III-IV of the Galileo Museum in Florence, Italy. Photo by Gabriella Bernardi.

Putting the Armillary Sphere’s Size into Perspective

It is made of gilded and painted wood with a height of 370 cm and a width of 245 cm. It is a representation of the Ptolemaic cosmological model and was built on commission by Ferdinando I de’ Medici for the Uffizi’s Stanza della Cosmografia.

The armillary spheres depicting the orbits of the planets enclose at the center a beautiful terrestrial globe updated to the latest…