The Biosphere, Glass sphere museum in Old Port, Genoa, Italy
The Biosphere is a glass and steel sphere 20 metres in diameter, suspended over the sea at Ponte Spinola beside the Genoa Aquarium. Its shell is a grid of metal framing holding curved glass panes, with white fabric sails hanging inside and angled toward the centre; a tall mast rises behind it. Inside, tree ferns up to seven metres tall and tropical plants grow under a computer-controlled climate.
The Biosphere was designed by Genoese architect Renzo Piano and built in 2001 for the G8 summit in Genoa. It was officially inaugurated on 19 January 2002 by mayor Giuseppe Pericu and Paolo Messina, CEO of Ignazio Messina & C., the company that financed it. Technical problems threatening the plants and animals closed it in February 2003; after adjustments it reopened on 1 October 2003.
The sphere is nicknamed La Bolla di Renzo Piano, and its interior is visited as part of the Aquarium of Genoa route. Among the plants are species long used by people, such as Coffea, Piper nigrum, Theobroma cacao and Vanilla planifolia, alongside scarlet ibises, red-eared slider turtles and African cichlids.
The sphere stands at Ponte Spinola beside the Aquarium of Genoa, and entry is through the Aquarium tour, of which the visit forms part. The interior is kept at 60% humidity and between 14 °C in winter and 30 °C in summer, so dress for warm, damp air. A railed walkway runs along the base at the water's edge.
The white fabric panels hanging inside the sphere are movable sails: they shift with the sun's position to shade the plants, working with seawater-powered radiators beneath the floor to hold the interior between 14 °C in winter and 30 °C in summer at 60% humidity.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,726 contributors worldwide.
