THE ORIGINS

An early core of the collection dates back to the first decades of the 19th century when Macedonio Melloni, professor of theoretical and practical physics at our university, became the director of the Physics Cabinet in 1827. The collection of scientific instruments, which is housed in the University’s Central Building, brings together a number of pieces inherited from the previous century, including a valuable electric perpetual motion.
The collection is augmented by 19th-century instruments including those used by the illustrious physicist Melloni; in particular, the optical bench through which Melloni made significant contributions to the theory of electromagnetism.
In the 1930s, the Institute of Physics changed location and moved to Via D’Azeglio.