Save the globes
On the occasion of the opening of the first university Museum of Geography in Italy , the Save the Globes fundraising campaign was launched, with the aim of restoring a celestial globe from 1630, created by the most renowned globe maker of the 17th century, Willem Blaeu, long used as a tool for study and teaching, as well as an extraordinarily fascinating work representing the constellations and captivating both young and adult visitors. Alongside the celestial globe, support was also given to the creation of an educational globe starting from two fragments of a terrestrial globe from 1645/48, essential for enriching the educational component of this one-of-a-kind museum itinerary.
Thanks to the generous contribution of Club Lions Padova Gattamelata of 4,500 euros together with online donations of 1,400 euros, the globes will return to their original beauty on the occasion of the start of the Octocentenary celebrations in a few months.
“The restoration through crowdfunding strengthens the relationship between the Museum and its public,” says Mauro Varotto, scientific coordinator of the Museum, “and is the first step in a broader enhancement project which provides, in addition to the inclusion of the globes in the visitor route, the possibility of digitally exploring the details of constellations and comets represented on the celestial globe, thus allowing the asset to be enjoyed remotely as well.” “The international Association of Lions Club, with its distinctive motto WE SERVE, intends to promote, at a global level, active interest in the civic, cultural, social and moral welfare of communities. The LIONS,” says Doriano Magosso, President of Club Lions Padova Gattamelata, “are therefore at the service of integration, cohesion, and the improvement of all components of society. For this reason, Lions Club Padova Gattamelata, even in this critical situation, deemed it appropriate to contribute also to the restoration of the seventeenth-century Celestial Globe, in the awareness that this will make it possible, for a long time to come, to admire and study it in its renewed, evident beauty. The pleasure and pride of the Club’s Members are also amplified by the choice to participate actively in the Eight Hundredth Anniversary of the establishment of our prestigious University in this way.”
The restoration of the globes of the Museo di Geografia involves cleaning and restoring the legibility of the celestial globe, which is now partially impaired by a dense dark patina. The two sections of the terrestrial globe, in addition to being cleaned, will be repositioned inside a transparent spherical structure which, besides ensuring the recovery and enhancement of the object, will also represent an innovative teaching tool. The restored globes will be placed next to two other globes (from the 15th and 19th centuries) in the Sala della Musica di Palazzo Wollemborg, home of the Museo di Geografia, and will therefore be permanently included in the visitor route. These two important restorations stand alongside those completed in recent years by the Department of Historical, Geographical and Ancient Sciences thanks to the financial support of the University Centre for the Museums of the University, which involved three other globes and eleven relief models. Obviously, the list of pieces in the Museum requiring restoration will not end with the essential recovery of the two Blaviana globes. Among the plaster relief models, the Vesuvio and the Vulcano Laziale by Amedeo Aureli, from the second decade of the 20th century, still need consolidation, while four other pieces, made between the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Italy and Germany, require cleaning. Two table globes and a solar system model, also dating back to the very early years of the 20th century and currently kept in storage, require structural work, while some of the more than 300 historic wall maps would need cleaning and consolidation. Finally, in the photographic collection as well, which includes important groups of glass plates from the early 20th century, there are several items whose survival is at risk.
Fundraising Office
Palazzo Storione
Riviera Tito Livio 6, 35123 Padua
Tel. +39 049 8273498
E-mail fundraising@unipd.it