[287] Hieronymi Fracastorii Veronensis opera omnia. The biography is thought to have been written by Adamo Fumano.
[289] Ramusio, op. cit., Vol. I.
Chapter VIII
Globes and Globe Makers of the Third Quarter of the Sixteenth Century
Revival of interest in globe making in Italy.—François De Mongenet of France and the reprint of his globe maps in Italy.—Gore map of Antonius Florianus.—Globe records left by Alessandro Piccolomini.—Ruscelli’s directions for globe construction.—Reference to the work of Sanuto and Gonzaga.—Armillary sphere of Volpaja.—Excellent workmanship in the celestial-terrestrial globe of Christian Heyden.—Metal globes of Johannes Praetorius.—Vasari’s reference to the work of Ignazio Danti.—The iron globe of Francisco Basso.—Armillary sphere of Giovanni Barrocci.—The work of Hieronymo de Boncompagni.—Emanuele Filiberto.—Anonymous globe of 1575.—Laurentian armillary spheres.—Small globes of the Biblioteca Nationale of Florence.—Mario Cartaro.
AMONG those interested in map and globe making, in the third quarter of the sixteenth century, none seems to have surpassed the Italians. In the art of map engraving they attained to a high degree of merit, and much of the finest work of the middle of the century is the product of the peninsula. With few exceptions it is the Italians who hold the field in this line of scientific activity. There can undoubtedly be traced here the influence of Mercator, but there appear to have been not a few who worked on what might be called independent lines. The interest of illustrious personages in the construction and the possession of globes prompted activity in this field. While the number extant, of those manufactured in this period, is not large, there are not a few references in letters and in scientific works assuring us of the construction of many which cannot now be traced.