Museo della strumentazione e informazione cristallografica

About the museum

The museum was conceived and set up by engineer Fausto D’Aprile at the Rome site of the CNR Institute of Crystallography in the Area della ricerca di Montelibretti. It began as a cultural project to collect, preserve and promote instruments that contributed to scientific progress; the material dates back to the early 20th century.

The collection includes powder and single-crystal diffractometers, goniometers (Weissenberg, Buerger, Guinier-de Wolff), diffraction cameras (Straumanis, Arndt-Wonnacott, Debye-Scherrer, Gandolfi), microscopes and optical goniometers, microdensitometers, goniocomparators, cryostats, spectrometers and X-ray components. Among the objects mentioned are a mass spectrometer from 1957, a device for low and high temperatures from 1954 and a Buerger goniometer from 1961.

The museum also includes an archive with technical documentation, publications and correspondence, including a section dedicated to Giordano Giacomello, founder and first director of the CNR’s Centro di studio per la Strutturistica Chimica (Centre for the Study of Chemical Structures), and to his successor Alessandro Vaciago, as well as a photo gallery of X-ray instruments and equipment.

Highlights

• Powder and single-crystal diffractometers
• Weissenberg, Buerger and Guinier-de Wolff goniometers
• Debye-Scherrer and Gandolfi diffraction cameras
• SP21F mass spectrometer from 1957
• Giacomello and Vaciago archive

Permanent exhibition

• Strumentazione, documentazione e galleria fotografica – Three sections on X-ray diffraction instruments, scientific archives and images of historic and modern crystallographic equipment.

Founded

2002

Operated by

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) – Istituto di Cristallografia

Visitors per year

approx. 100

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission with mandatory reservation.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The CNR states that the museum is accessible to people with disabilities.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

By car about 15 minutes from the Fiano Romano exit of the A1 motorway. From Fiumicino airport about 60 minutes by train, from Roma Tiburtina station about 30 minutes.

Amenities & dining

The research area has a bar and a canteen. The CNR also mentions an educational service, a library and a conference hall.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit