IBIOCAT Science&Art- Exhibition: “The Medici and the Sciences -Instruments and machines in the grand ducal collections”- From 15 May 2008 to 11 Jan 2009, Florence (Italy), the “Museo degli Argenti”, Pitti Palace.

The exhibition "The Medici and the Sciences" 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 close relationship between art and science emerges from the precious beauty of many of these instruments, often one-off pieces and authentic works of art in themselves. "The Medici and the Sciences" underscores the fusion between art, science and political power, juxtaposing a wide selection of instruments from the Institute and Museum of the History of Science with a similarly ample range of paintings, printed works and manuscripts originating from the institutions of the Polo Museale and other institutes and libraries in Florence and elsewhere in Italy.

 

Promoters

• Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali
• Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città di Firenze
• Museo degli Argenti
• Firenze Musei
• Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza (IMSS)
• Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze

For further information please visit the website: http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/mostre/mostra.asp?id=123

 

 

Laura Cipollina-IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale