Quartiere Pianello

Click here to obtain your numbered limited edition poster of Salimbeni's Sputnik depiction of the year 1600

This strange depiction is frequently selected for television documentaries, such as Voyager, which specialise in unexplainable phenomena. It has appeared in countless international magazines with varied interpretations and theories, achieving fame and creating controversy, none of which Ventura Salimbeni could ever in his wildest dreams have imagined.

POSTER - Glorification of the Eucharist – Ventura Salimbeni – Anno 1600

Structured vertically, the Holy Eucharist is placed in the geometric centre surrounded by four great doctors of the Church. On the right, Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, and Saint Augustus, theologian and Bishop of Ippona. On the left, Saint Girolamo, dressed in red with the lion at his side, and Saint Gregory Magno shown with the symbol of the Holy Spirit, the dove, whispering in his ear, signifying divine inspiration as he writes.

In the upper painting, on the right is God the Father, and on the left the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Above, in the centre is the Dove, representing the Holy Spirit.

Curiosities:

Recalling mans early venture into space, recall the sputnik launched by Russia in 1956. The metallic sphere in the painting is uncannily similar to the Russian sputnik. Think of the Vanguard II satellite launched in 1959 by U.S.A.  These space pioneers were launched 400 years after Salimbeni depicted something astonishingly  similar in his painting.

Did Ventura Salimbeni see something in the sky above Tuscany? What on earth, or in space, prompted him to depict a sputnik among the Holy Trinity?

Discovery and Opinion

Since 1972 controversy and discussion has circled the globe, bringing the work of Ventura Salimbeni to an audience he never could have imagined.

Click here to obtain your numbered limited edition poster of Salimbeni's Sputnik depiction of the year 1600