Istituo e Museo di Storia della Scienza or the Science Museum

I think I, Maridee, need to apologize for yesterday's post. I feel that there are some of you out there that want to know about the art work we have seen. I know in the other museums in London and Paris we could take non-flash photos. In Italy no photos are allowed whatsoever. The few that we have managed to catch are due to the fact that the guard is focused somewhere else and Jim snaps away. Without photos it is difficult to share what we have seen with you.

Part of our discouragement with the Uffizi yesterday was that because there were so many people it was extrememtly difficult to get close to any of the paintings. Also, I have been sick and I am sure that added to the discomfort of the crowded surroundings. I probably wasn't as patient as I should have been. Nevertheless, I wanted to share my feelings about a couple of the paintings that I truly enjoyed.

In art history I studied Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and "Primavera". I know that we would all recognize it if we saw it. But I have to confess that walking in the room and seeing both paintings hanging on the wall was beautiful. The colors of "Birth" were still most incredible. And you could even see the breath of the angels. Other's that stood out were Michelangelo's "Holy Family", Fiorentino's "Musician Angel" and the beautiful alterpieces. There was so much and I hope to return again.

You know we think of Renaissance as being paintings, sculpture, mosaics and architecture. But also important to remember is that music and science flourished in Florence during this time too. Today we decided to see some non-art but Renaissance beginnings of science and mathematics. We ventured over to the Museum of the History of Science. There was no need for reservations as we were just a handful of visitors there. But what a difference being in a less crowded atmosphere makes. We don't understand why no photos were allowed here either. We think it is so we will buy their museum guide! But they really had the place covered with their guards so Jim just checked the camera. Sorry, but we have no pictures again. You can go online and pull up this museum and see some of these fantastic items. www.imss.fi.it

This is a building that houses over 5,000 early scientific objects that once belonged to the Medici and Lorraine families. We could literally walk right up to the cases and peer into them to see the first lens, the first telescope, the first microscope, the first compass,the first clock, the first barometer, etc. They had cases of Galileo's scientific objects. They even had his middle finger! We saw the first calculator (circa. 1650). We saw maps that showed the world before the discovery of America. Though the museum was relatively small as compared to the Uffizi, we spent as much time there because we could see so clearly the evolution of technology from the very beginning. It even has a room devoted to the surgical instruments of the doctor to the Austrian Emperor in 1750's. Included were numerous wax examples of various obstetrical complications or a normal delivery. They covered breech births of every kind, twins, cojoined twins, and forcep deliveries! These were used for teaching student's what to expect, what can go wrong, how to do a c-section, etc. Actually I found these pretty interesting but I don't think Jim did. They were pretty graphic.

It has turned very cold here. The wind has been blowing most of the day and though the skies are clear the weather is cold. Until later..... Ciao! Print this post