Description
It sometimes feels like a superior hand guides the monthly contents of The Florentine. Despite our utmost efforts to plan and control, another editorial force is often at work, deciding the themes and dictating the forces at play. As we assembled the March issue, the stars were aligned on the astrological and astronomical front. This month, National Central Library opens an exhibition championing women in astronomy, organized by Museo Galileo, which continues to host the Splendori Celesti show in the former dormitory of Santa Maria Novella, while Alexandra Lawrence furthers her Mystics, Magicians and Madmen of the RenaisThe stars align with a focus on astronomy, astrology and the sciences in the March issue of The Florentine.sance lecture series at The British Institute of Florence and we organize an AstroCocktail night with evolutionary astrologist Dennis Clark at Hotel Savoy on March 20.
Our cover story was pre-announced and years in the making, however. Florence’s beloved Museo de La Specola fully reopens on March 1. Although visitors will not notice much difference in the storied rooms hosting the zoological collections with their lions, bears and tigers, where new lighting and a lick of paint are the extent of the restoration, sensational additions include the plush Medici gems and botanical wax sections, as well as the impressive mineralogy department, complete with asteroid samples in a move from another university-managed museum in via La Pira. Book ahead and climb the astronomical tower to the observatory, which gives the museum its name, for all-round city views and a reminder of the centuries-old science behind the stars.
