«Per illuminare il suo popolo e renderlo felice col farlo più culto»

Text in Italian

The essay is focused on the Imperiale e Reale Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale of Florence (Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History), also known as “La Specola” (which means “the observatory”). It studies the composition and cultural physiognomy of the visitors of the museum during a period of time set between 1783 and 1788. Through the analysis of the remaining documentation, the text paints a picture of the social and cultural components that characterized the public of the Florentine institution.Presentation by Cristina De Benedictis.