No true culture tour in Florence is complete without a trip to the History of Science Museum. This fascinating museum contains a priceless collection of scientific instruments that clearly demonstrate the interest in science, equal only to the arts, that flourished in Florence from the 13th century onwards. The museum is appropriately located next to the Uffizi Gallery in a physical combining of the two major players in Florence at the height of the Renaissance: Art and Science.

Much of the collection is the result of the collecting mania and curiosity of the Medici and the Lorraine Grand Duke, among them Cosimo I and Francesco de’ Medici, who were fascinated by natural sciences, physics and mathematics. Many of the mechanical, electrostatic and pneumatic instruments on display on the second floor were made possible by the two families patronage to the sciences. Other sections on this floor are dedicated to clocks, sextants, chemical and pharmaceutical apparatus and medicine, which boats a display of rare obstetric models of wax and terracotta and a collection of surgical tools.

The 11 rooms on the first floor are dedicated to the Medici collections and are truly impressive. It is in these rooms that one can understand the English poet John Donne’s words, “The Sun is lost, and th’earth, and no man’s wit/Can well direct him where to look for it.” The original instruments used by Galileo - thermometers, microscopes and meteorological instruments - that caused his earth-shattering, paradigm-shifting, perspective-changing discoveries are on full display here. They are a must-see while in Florence. In addition, sextants, astrolabes, sun and night clocks, compasses and armillary spheres fill the rooms.
If you want to actually meet Galileo, next door to the museum the Institute of History of Science houses a rich and ancient library together with a regularly updated modern research library. It includes various laboratories and organizes guided visits that are often accompanied by an actor impersonating Galileo.

And if you are tired from walking or Facebooking all day, be sure to check out the museum’s interactive website (www.imss.fi.it).
Online exhibits provide an entirely different and interesting way to explore in-depth the instruments and concepts featured in the museum. Learn how to use Galileo’s compass, delve into the relation between Leonardo Da Vinci’s art and his contemporary science, and find out what an astrolabe does through the virtual exhibits. It is like having your own personal tourguide, without the annoying earpiece and awkward stares.


History of Science Museum:
Piazza de’ Giudici, 1 - tel. 055.265311
Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays: 9.30am-5pm - Tuesdays: 9.30am-1pm - Holidays: 10am-1pm- Open 2nd Sunday of month
Entrance: E 6,50 / 4,00.
or visit www.imss.fi.it
[Patrick Fitzgerald]

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http://www.imss.fi.it

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