"The Verona astrolabe"
In just a few hours, one of our Museum's most precious objects became famous by reaching every corner of the globe, creating awe, wonder and hope. Why?
Because the news that it encompasses different souls and cultures in this difficult historical period has been reported in major international newspapers.
The study recently conducted by Dr. Federica Gigante, Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, showed that the instrument from the Ludovico Moscardo Collection, exhibited in our museum, is a rare and very old object that reveals a complex history of scientific interactions in the Arab and Jewish worlds of the medieval and modern Mediterranean. Although it is undated, in terms of the style of engraving and other elements it has the characteristics of instruments made in the 11th century in Toledo; created for Muslim users for prayer purposes it was then adapted, translated and corrected for centuries by Hebrew and Western speakers in Spain, North Africa and Italy.