This contribution proposes a concise profile of Enrico Piraino (Cefalù, 1809-1864), Baron of Mandralisca — a prominent figure among the Sicilian intelligentsia during the period of the Unity of Italy — in particular focusing on his interests as a collector and scientist. Endowed with a spirit of cataloguing which finds expression in widely different collections, studies and publications, Baron Mandralisca's many-sided personality led him to maintain correspondence with some of the most important figures of the scientific world of his time and finds completion in his holograph will of 1853. In it, Baron Mandralisca establishes as his sole heir a Liceo — a school combining theory with practice, humanistic with scientific tradition; a school where Latin, Ancient Greek and penmanship are studied, together with nautical and scientific sciences; a school that makes use of his own library, and scientific and artistic laboratory. The Liceo was actually set up in 1890, even if its characteristics were different from those laid down by the Baron. The antique instruments kept in his physics laboratory (which are only approximately datable, thanks to the oldest inventory, drawn up in 1933; some of them might date back to the 19th century, others might have become part of the collection between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth) are for the most part still usable, and are actually still effectively used during physics lessons, above all in experiments aiming at a qualitative description of some phenomena regarding solid and fluid mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, acoustics and thermology. Particularly remarkable are a portable microscope, a Ramsden machine, a Morse code transmitter and receiver, a dial telegraph, a Fortin barometer and a pneumatic machine. A selection of the instruments has been restored and was exhibited in 2001 and 2011.

La collezione degli strumenti di fisica del barone Enrico Piraino nel Liceo Mandralisca di Cefalù

Gabriele Marino
Co-first
2016-01-01

Abstract

This contribution proposes a concise profile of Enrico Piraino (Cefalù, 1809-1864), Baron of Mandralisca — a prominent figure among the Sicilian intelligentsia during the period of the Unity of Italy — in particular focusing on his interests as a collector and scientist. Endowed with a spirit of cataloguing which finds expression in widely different collections, studies and publications, Baron Mandralisca's many-sided personality led him to maintain correspondence with some of the most important figures of the scientific world of his time and finds completion in his holograph will of 1853. In it, Baron Mandralisca establishes as his sole heir a Liceo — a school combining theory with practice, humanistic with scientific tradition; a school where Latin, Ancient Greek and penmanship are studied, together with nautical and scientific sciences; a school that makes use of his own library, and scientific and artistic laboratory. The Liceo was actually set up in 1890, even if its characteristics were different from those laid down by the Baron. The antique instruments kept in his physics laboratory (which are only approximately datable, thanks to the oldest inventory, drawn up in 1933; some of them might date back to the 19th century, others might have become part of the collection between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth) are for the most part still usable, and are actually still effectively used during physics lessons, above all in experiments aiming at a qualitative description of some phenomena regarding solid and fluid mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, acoustics and thermology. Particularly remarkable are a portable microscope, a Ramsden machine, a Morse code transmitter and receiver, a dial telegraph, a Fortin barometer and a pneumatic machine. A selection of the instruments has been restored and was exhibited in 2001 and 2011.
2016
XXXIII Convegno annuale Società Italiana degli Storici della Fisica e dell’Astronomia
Acireale, Catania, Siracusa
4-7 settembre 2013
Società Italiana degli Storici della Fisica e dell’Astronomia: Atti del XXXIII Convegno annuale
Pavia University Press
207
213
978-88-6952-048-8
http://www.paviauniversitypress.it/catalogo/societa-italiana-degli-storici-della-fisica-e-dell’astronomia-atti-del-xxxiii-convegno-annuale---proceedings-of-the-33rd-annual-conference/446?t=3
Cefalù, Enrico Piraino Baron of Mandralisca, Mandralisca Museum, Physics in the 19th century, Sicily
Maria Antonella Panzarella; Gabriele Marino
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1761274
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