The Globe of Peace ( it, Mappamondo della Pace) is a large
globe
A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...
located in
Apecchio
Apecchio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro.
It lies on the border between Marche and Umbria and is crossed by the Biscubio an ...
,
Pesaro,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. It was the
Guinness Book of World Records record holder for the world's largest rotating globe until 1999, when it was succeeded by
Eartha. It was built over a period of six years by Orfeo Bartolucci, with the stated goal of diffusing a message of peace and liberty to all people. It measures 10 metres in diameter and is reported to weigh 170
quintal
The quintal or centner is a historical unit of mass in many countries which is usually defined as 100 base units, such as pounds or kilograms. It is a traditional unit of weight in France, Portugal, and Spain and their former colonies. It is com ...
s, or 17,000 kilograms. Reportedly 250 quintals of putty, 30 cubic metres of wood, and a ton (unclear whether English or Metric) of nails were used in its construction. The globe is located outdoors and has a
fibreglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
skin. It can hold approximately 600 people and internally contains descriptive tables listing every country of the world and their flag.
Bartolucci, formerly a
mason and later a building contractor by trade, reports that he had the inspiration for the globe during a visit to the
Ducal Palace in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
during the 1970s. The palace contained – among other exhibits – a globe 2 metres in diameter, and Bartolucci became interested in building a larger one. Upon inquiring of the large publishing house
Mondadori
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy.
History
The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...
in
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
, he was informed that the Guinness Book of World Records reported a globe of 8 metres in diameter at
Babson College in
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. Wanting to take the record, Bartolucci decided on a diameter of ten metres.
Bartolucci solicited information about the Babson globe, and found out that it had issues with weather resistance that had led to deterioration over time, and that the methods used for its construction would cost Bartolucci approximately 500 million lire. This information influenced his design decisions. For six years, Bartolucci worked from 5 A.M. until dusk, using his
pension income and accumulated savings but not borrowing any funds.
The inauguration ceremony for the globe drew an official representative of the state and an audience of about seven thousand people.
Bartolucci also constructed several other interesting artifacts, including a globe 5 mm in diameter.
See also
*
Eartha
*
Babson Globe
External links
translation of interview with Bartolucci
Globes
Province of Pesaro and Urbino
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