Crafts, Tourism and Science 2.0 at the Museum of Archimedes and Leonardo in Syracuse

Syracuse – The Museum of Archimedes and Leonardo in Syracuse, which has been operating since 2012, has been renovated. It opens the door for the summer season with a new project that involves displaying already interactive mechanical models with Lebanese cedars.

This is how we can define the production of this startup, with obsession, obsession with innovation, to unleash creativity, but also to use technologies applied to wood. The spread of ecological culture led Maria Gabriela Capese and her team of designers to use wood not only made in Italy but above all salvaged in the most disparate places, repurposing trees by cutting unstable and unsafe vegetation.

The wood is then used with water-based products as well as ecological and natural paints that have a low environmental impact and are free of volatile, harmful and irritating substances. Applied experiments and techniques, thanks to the support of the Artesmechanicae research group, have enhanced the constructive potential of wood materials. The cedars of Lebanon used in the construction of the models seem to have already found their natural home inside the former monastery of the retreat, in Via Mirabella, a historical and picturesque place, in one of the oldest alleys of the island of Ortigia.

“Each model – comments the museum’s founder, Maria Gabriela Capese – is unique because it is entirely handmade, with unparalleled tactile refinement, obtained with meticulous craftsmanship. Quality means passion, a value that is increasingly appreciated in our sector. Thus, the scents of bushes and cedars will reopen the doors of the Museum of Archimedes and Leonardo, which dedicates and focuses its attention on the genius of Archimedes. The Iron Manus, the lever, the catapult, the hydraulic screw will in fact be just some of the inventions on display, in what will be the course of a polyglot museum, with symmetrical comparison of discoveries destined for scientific mathematical and engineering studies from talented inventors ».

A tale interpreted by the genius Archimedes, that will take the audience back in time. From the third century BC to the Renaissance, where Leonardo lived. An exceptional opportunity for those who want to deepen their knowledge, browse mechanisms, experiment, or touch and explore. A real opportunity for anyone given that the Museum, which has confirmed the Memorandum of Understanding with the association “Sicily Tourism for All”, offers concrete walks dedicated to the blind, where it will be possible to touch the works on display, and private visits, in coordination with a tour with translations into Italian sign language. A museum for everyone and not just for certain types of disabilities, from Down syndrome to autism, but also for the so-called healthy people who, through a simple approach, can break their boundaries and open up to a different way of living, art and science. And to enrich the offer, there is also a family-friendly workshop, which is an unrivaled opportunity to combine learning, experimentation, and educational activities.

«For the Museum of Archimedes and Leonardo in Syracuse – concludes Maria Gabriela Capese – it is a Copernican revolution, from an awareness of my role, but also from a lot of motivation combined with passion and dedication to my work and to the city of Syracuse, which gave birth to one of the greatest scientists in history ».

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