Paris, France — One of the world’s best known globe makers was the Italian Franciscan friar and cosmographer Vincenzo Coronelli who was commissioned to make globes for, among others, the Duke of Parma and King Louis XIV of France back in the 17th century. The two globes he made for the French king, which measure 384 centimetres in diameter and weigh in at about two tons, are displayed to the public in the Bibliothèque nationale François Mitterrand in Paris, part of France’s national library. French president François Mitterrand would commission French architect and urbanist Fernand Pouillon to create a series of globes drawing their inspiration from the masterpieces by Coronelli. Three models were produced, one a replica of the original Coronelli globes, a terrestrial globe representing the world in 1985 and a celestial globe. The house of Jardin de Flore would produce 45 of these eye-catching and educational globes which would wend their way into major government buildings while others were sold. One of these, pictured above and below, was auctioned last March 31st by the French house of Piasa, with the proceeds of the sale — 10, 400 euros — benefiting the Institut François Mitterrand. Alain Sitbon, a figure in French politics who advised politicians from his native Lyons, donated the globe to the Institute, a charity involved in scientific and cultural activities. By The Gourmet Gazette newsroom. https://www.piasa.fr/en