Girolamo della Volpaia, Armillary sphere
Florence 1564
Brass, crystal; sphere diameter sfera 33 cm; height 77,5 cm, width 49 cm
Florence, Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, inv. 2711
Photo courtesy of Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza
|
The Medicis and Science: Instruments and Machines in the Grand Ducal Collections
ITALY
FLORENCE • Palazzo Pitti • 15 May 2008 - 11 January 2009
|
 |
The Medicis And Science features a large collection of scientific writings and tools. The show addresses the leading role played by physical, mathematical and natural disciplines in Tuscany in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries. More specifically from Cosimo I up to Ferdinand II, the Medici were great patrons of both the constructors of scientific instruments and natural philosophers, since they were more acutely aware than any other European rulers of the fact that scientific knowledge and the technological control of nature gave political power solidity and prestige. This is why, alongside the lavish collections of paintings, sculpture and jewellery, the Medici also created a collection of mathematical instruments.
The Medici and Science Web Site
|
| Contact: |
Palazzo Pitti
Tel: (39) 055 2654321
|
|
TRAVEL CALENDAR
