Meetings at the National Palaces
At the Royal Palace of Sintra with Samuel Gessner: Possessing the Cosmos, Schissler’s Celestial Globe and the Imagination of the Cosmos in the 16th Century
Discover how a 16th-century celestial globe transformed the cosmos into an object of knowledge, contemplation and prestige. In this meeting, Samuel Gessner reveals the story of Christoph Schissler’s extraordinary globe, preserved at the National Palace of Sintra, exploring the relationship between science, art and power in the Renaissance and inviting visitors to look at the sky through the eyes of a time fascinated by the universe.
Schissler’s Celestial Globe: Imagining the Universe in the Renaissance
What if you could bring the sky inside a palace? In 1575, instrument maker Christoph Schissler created a celestial globe that allowed people to observe, study and contemplate the order of the universe without leaving home. Today, through this exceptional object preserved at the National Palace of Sintra, we will discover what a celestial globe is, how it was used and why it became a symbol of knowledge, prestige and culture among Renaissance princes and patrons.
More than an astronomical instrument, the celestial globe was also a way of making the cosmos visible and tangible. Through its history, we will explore how educated men and women in the 16th century imagined the heavens, how they learned to navigate among the stars and why owning such an object meant participating in a worldview that brought together science, art, power and curiosity.
About the Speaker
Samuel Gessner is a researcher at the Interuniversity Centre for the History of Science and Technology (CIUHCT) and an invited Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon.
His research focuses on different mathematical cultures in schools, workshops and courts, and on the ways in which they interacted in medieval Europe and the early modern period. To do so, he frequently examines mathematical and astronomical instruments as historical sources, exploring their multiple roles in the production and dissemination of knowledge.
He is the author of the articles “Multiple Meanings of Precision” and “Trepidation Spheres”, published in Annals of Science (2023) and Centaurus (2021), respectively. He is also co-author of the popular science book The Wondrous Course of the Planets (2022) and was curator of the exhibition Na intimidade dos números (2021) at the National Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon.
More information
- Location: National Palace of Sintra
- Date: October 29, 2026
- Time: 7:00 PM
- Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Audience: Youth and adults
- Meeting Point: Main entrance of the Palace
- Accessibility: Route not accessible
- Additional Information: The activity concludes with a cocktail for socializing and informal discussion of ideas and experiences, lasting 30–45 minutes. The ticket price contributes to the planting of three trees in the Sintra Mountains and to offsetting the carbon footprint associated with the activity.