XLV National Congress of the Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy

The Origins of the Physics Cabinet of the University of Naples

10 Sept 2025, 12:55

25m

Aula Magna (DIFI-Università di Genova)

Musei, Archivi e Strumentazione scientifica di fisica e astronomia in Italia e nel mondo / Museums, Archives, and Scientific Instruments of Physics and Astronomy in Italy and Abroad

Speaker

Del Monte, Rosanna (Museo di Fisica Università di Napoli Federico II)

Description

We explore the origins of the Physics Cabinet of the University of Naples. Using archival documents, instrument inventories and other primary sources, we reconstruct the complex history that led to the first collections of instruments in the Cabinet's premises at the beginning of the 19th century. Particular attention will be paid to the specific role of the professors, the instrument makers and the academic and political institutions. Finally, we will compare the contents of the old inventories with the current collection of the Physics Museum of the University to determine whether and which of these instruments have made it to us.