ARCHIMEDES AND LEONARDO
MUSEUM

The museum has been completely renovated

This museum is my true home: Archimedes’s house.
My inventions and those of Leonardo, which are displayed here, are the result of significant work carried out by a team of Sicilian designers. Actual working prototypes have been made with the technical-scientific consultation of the Florentine group ArtesMechanicae. Each model constructed from cedar of Lebanon is to be considered a unique piece because it is made entirely by hand, with an unrivalled refinement, achieved through meticulous workmanship. The machines, furthermore, have the distinction of being interactive, facilitating a tactile and sensory exploration, teaching one to correctly ‘touch’ all the details of the working mechanisms. I value the fact that the Museum is open to everyone and that the machines on display can be a source of cultural inspiration. We scientists have always had a passion for improving the quality of life for mankind.
The Claw of Archimedes, the Lever, the Catapult, are just a few of the inventions dedicated to me, in what will be a multilingual museum tour that will take you back in time, from the 3rd century B.C. to the Renaissance period, when our beloved colleague Leonardo da Vinci lived.
The museum is therefore for all ages, and even children from three to eleven years old will have the opportunity to understand the raw materials that make up the machines, the basic workings of mechanics, the rudiments of physics and the scientific disciplines behind my discoveries, not forgetting the important approach to aerodynamics, of which Leonardo da Vinci is the forefather. To conclude your visit an educational area dedicated to families, where lions and giraffes are transformed into actual scientific instruments.
An unprecedented cultural novelty: I converse with you and my natural Tuscan heir Leonardo da Vinci.
A unique experience embracing history, science, mechanics and physics.

The staging is by the Teatro Stabile di Catania.

GALLERY

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Dog friendly museum

Enjoy your visit here at the Museum with your four-legged friend as you have always dreamed. Pets are not only tolerated, they are welcomed and have access to the lobby and our courtyard, where they can enjoy a bowl of water and some recreation.

INCLUSIVE MUSEUM

No-one is excluded, the all inclusive exhibition is a resource for society.

The visits include a tactile exploration of some of the works in the museum’s collection and are directed to people with visual impairments (blind and visually impaired) and their caregivers. The visits are aimed at specific audiences, from children to adolescents and adults, and the focus is on the involvement and interaction of all participants, both visually impaired and sighted. The project stems from the desire to offer the community the opportunity to take part in the cultural process, interpreting the needs of different audiences and adapting the language accordingly to make the tour experience accessible to everyone. Our tours are aimed at adults and children who are deaf and will be led by a hearing guide accompanied by a LIS interpreter. Tactile tours reserved for the blind, where they are allowed to touch the works on display, because ‘seeing with your hands is possible’. A museum without barriers, because art in all its forms must be accessible. A museum for everyone, and not just for some disabilities, from Down’s syndrome to autism, but also for the able-bodied, who through a simple approach can break down their limitations and open up to a different way of experiencing art and science.

ARTESMECHANICAE

A new chapter in the long-running history of the Archimedes and Leonardo Museum in Syracuse.In fact, the facility located in the ex-convent of the retreat in Via Mirabella, in the heart of Ortigia, is now enriched by the collaboration with ArtesMechanicae, a prestigious research group engaged in the study of the history of science and technology, and characterized by an interdisciplinary approach that integrates traditional historiographical methods with tools of analysis, classification and visualization derived from engineering and computer science. At present the museum, therefore, relies on their expert scientific and technical advice, aimed at broadening the educational and cultural offerings of the facility. Not only that. Andrea Bernardoni and Alexander Neuwahl, with their extensive cultural background, join the museum’s Scientific Committee, thus continuing to be enriched by specialists from different fields.

Want to learn more?
Click here and visit the ArtesMechanicae website

THE ARCHIMEDES AND LEONARDO MUSEUM IS ALSO AN EDUCATIONAL SPACE FOR FAMILIES.

You will have an educational experience here at the Museum. The workshops began in 2015, when the Museum chose to complement the exsisting machines with the first small-scale interactive models. In 2019, the location in Via Mirabella 31 gets a makeover and is promoted as a hub and meeting place for families. A place designed to bring children closer to educational activities, where it is possible to combine discussion with practice, experimentation with didactics, attention and concentration with pleasure and learning. Within our facilities, we offer a new space for lessons, Children’s Museum; knowledge and learning through direct experience. Bringing children closer and letting them experience art in all its forms has a positive impact on their cognitive and emotional development, encourages creativity and expression, and helps develop communication skills. Watchword: experiment