28/09/2008

The Medici and the Sciences - Instruments and machines in the grand ducal collections

Florence – The Museo degli Argenti – Pitti Palace

From 15 May 08 until 11 Jan 09

The Medici and the Sciences

Instruments and machines in the grand ducal collections

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

Ticket prices:
Full price: € 10,00
Reduced: € 5,00

Exhibition ticket includes entrances to: the Museo degli Argenti, the Costume Gallery, the Porcelain museum, the Boboli Gardens, the Bardini Gardens

Hours
Daily:
8.15 – 18.30 (May, September and October)
8.15 – 17.30 (in the month of October when Daylight Saving Time ends)
8.15 – 16.30 (November,  December, January)
Entry is permitted up to an hour before closing time
Closed on the 1st and the last Monday of each month

Informations :
Firenze Musei
ph. +39 055 2654321