Educating heart and mind: Vincenzo Antinori and scientific culture in Nineteenth century Florence

Abstract

The paper aims to illustrate the scientific and cultural context in which Carlo Matteucci operated. The Imperial and Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History in Florence, opened in 1775, was at center of the research an teaching aimed at the dissemination of the then current scientific knowledge. The paper wants to illustrate the role of Vincenzo Antinori, Director of the Museum from 1829, in emphasizing the view of a public-minded science. And we wants to recall the flourishing of sciences in Florence between the first and the second half of the 19th century.