IF YOU relish the rare, beautiful and unexpected in the history of science,
head for Italy. There you will find a small group of museums that have much to
offer, even to those without a science background. Florence possesses two: the
Museo di Storia della Scienza, a stone鈥檚 throw from the Uffizi, and, across the
Ponte Vecchio and just beyond the Pitti Palace, the zoological museum, known as
La Specola. The science museum, housed in a splendid palazzo, bears witness to
the Medici interest in the natural world, and to the career of Italy鈥檚 greatest
scientist, Galileo. The zoological museum is remarkable for its
waxworks鈥攍ate-18th-century anatomical models of extraordinary skill used
for medical teaching.
In Milan, the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e Tecnica is much in the style of
London鈥檚 Science Museum, and therefore fun for children. It also contains a
gallery devoted to models of the machines and inventions of that most versatile
of geniuses, Leonardo da Vinci.
Finally, Bologna, home of Europe鈥檚 oldest university, has several scientific
collections, and again, some magnificent anatomical waxworks, including complete
human figures, like skinless statues, housed in the Museo di Anatomia Umana.
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But if you don鈥檛 know these treasure houses exist, how are you going to find
them? With difficulty, it seems. Guidebooks are far from generous in their
coverage of even this limited list. Not surprisingly, Tuscany and
Umbria by Jonathan Buckley et al (Rough Guides, 拢8.99/$15.95,
ISBN 1 85828 091 5) is thorough in dealing with the Florence museums. It does a
good job, even including the three natural history museums of the university
that are old-fashioned in their displays鈥攕oon to be rehoused. But
Italy by Ros Belford and colleagues (Rough Guides,
拢12.99/$19.95, ISBN 1 85828 167 9) gives no coverage at all to
science in Florence, though it mentions the Milan museum, and enthuses about the
Bologna wax figures.
The Cadogan guides Italy and Tuscany by Dana Facaros and
Michael Pauls (拢16.99/$21.95, ISBN 1 56440 462 5 and
拢14.99/$19.95, ISBN 1 8 60110 819) scarcely help. Italy
finds the waxworks in Bologna 鈥渂izarre鈥�, ignores La Specola, but gives
reasonable coverage to the Florence Museo, and to Milan, where the museum of
technology and the natural history museum appear. Tuscany gives good
coverage to the Museo, and space, if somewhat sensationalist copy, to La
Specola.
What about American guides? The Open Road guide by Doug Morris
($17.95, ISBN 1 883323 31 2) concentrates on food for the body rather
than the mind, whisking summarily through 鈥渟eeing the sights鈥�. Its author, Doug
Morris, cannot spell Uffizi, gives no coverage to the Museo in Florence, but has
the sense to be intrigued by La Specola. The Milan Museo gets a write-up, but
Bologna, no.
Frommer鈥檚 96 guide by Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince (Macmillan,
$19.95, ISBN 0 02 860628 0) is highly organised, with itineraries for
stays of various lengths, and firm opinions on what to see and do. But again
science barely gets a look-in: Galileo appears as the name given to Pisa
airport, and a garbled mention in the description of the Duomo in Florence. The
Museo in Milan is admitted because the author is 鈥渁 fan of Leonardo鈥�.
The Italians themselves are enthusiastic about the history of science, and
its artefacts. So the interested traveller requires a specialist guidebook, such
as The Scientific Traveller by Charles Tanford and Jacqueline Reynolds
(Wiley, 拢12.99, ISBN 0 471 55566 5). For the general guidebooks, the
verdict must be: should try harder.