Speaker
Description
The aim of the present paper is to present an interesting and rather obscure figure of Artur Wolynski - political emigre, scholar and publicist, a man actively engaged in the life of the Polish emigration community, co-founder of such institutions as The Academy of Adam Mickiewicz in Bologna, The Polish Library in Rome and above all - The Museum of Nicolaus Copernicus in Rome. The main area of Wolynski's interests was the life and work of Copernicus. He wrote over a dozen of works meant to correct opinions on Copernicus, which prevailed then in Italy, particularly concerning his nationality. In the first period of his museum activity Wolynski focused on collecting exhibits that attested to the Polish origins of Copernicus. At the same time, the Museum became the center of advancement of the Polish cause and strove to inform the Italians not only of the cultural output of the Polish people but also of the political situation in partitioned Poland. When the Italian authorities took over the Museum and appointed Wolynski to the post of its curator, he changed his policy, focusing on research and collecting old astronomical instruments from Italian observatories - a policy supported by the authorities. From now on, Copernicus was given much less attention and the Polish national issues almost not at all. The management of the Museum of Copernicus in Rome was gradually taken over by the Italian astronomers.
