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The Grand Palais in Paris is the largest existing ironwork and glass structure in the world.
“Vincenzo Coronelli, born in Venice in 1650, was a Franciscan monk as well as a cartographer. One of his most significant accomplishments was the pair of giant globes (completed in 1680) which he produced on commission for King Louis XIV of France. Each one measured almost four metres in diameter, and had a doorway through which people could enter to observe the globe from the interior. About thirty people could fit inside each one".
[Quoted from bbc.co.uk]
The last time the public saw these globes was 25 years ago in the Pompidou Centre ; and before that, 100 years ago. The two globes were made in 1681 and 1683. When their display in the Grand Palais has ended, they will also be restored, to be shown in the National Library of France during 2006.
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