🌍✨ ROOM OF THE WORLD MAP ✨🌍
Sala del Mappamondo 🗺️
📍 Palazzo Farnese di CAPRAROLA
🎨 Giovanni Antonio da Varese (called #Vanosino), Giovanni de’ Vecchi and Raffaellino Motta da Reggio
📅 1573-1574
🤯 MIND-BLOWING FACT: Only 80 years after Columbus discovered America (1492), these Renaissance masters were already painting Antarctica — they depicted it as GREEN, teeming with exotic animals! 🐆🌿🐘 Imagine their wonder at this mysterious southern continent that wouldn’t be officially discovered until 1820!
🔮 Above your head, the entire ceiling transforms into a celestial theater. This isn’t just decoration — it’s a cosmic map centered on the Winter Solstice, featuring FIFTY constellations! The artists included all forty-eight from Ptolemy’s ancient Almagest (150 AD), plus two “bonus” constellations: Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs) and the mysterious Antinous.
⭐ Fun fact 🐕 Canes Venatici wouldn’t be officially recognized as its own constellation until 1687 — these artists were ahead of their time!
💫 Standing in this room is like being inside a Renaissance time machine, where geography meets astronomy - The Farnese family didn’t just commission a room — they created a portal to the cosmos! 🌌
#WorldMapRoom #PalazzoFarnese #Caprarola #HistoricalMaps #Antarctica #ItalianArt #CulturalHeritage #TravelItaly #Renaissance #Astronomy #Geography #ArtHistory #Italy #Lazio #Constellations #16thCentury #DiscoverItaly #ArtLovers #Farnese #palazzofarnesedicaprarola #ItalianCulture #Viterbo #VisitLazio