Museo di Idraulica

About the museum

The Museo di Idraulica was set up at the San Pietro in Vincoli site of the Facoltà di Ingegneria of the Sapienza. In the 1930s, when the Scuola degli Ingegneri became a Facoltà and the Città Universitaria was built, the site was expanded with the Istituto di Idraulica and its laboratory, built under the supervision of Professor Luciano Conti.

At the end of the last century a thorough renovation of the laboratory brought to light many scientific instruments that had long been unused. As they could not be placed in other facilities, it was decided not to disperse this heritage and to create a museum. Over time, equipment decommissioned by other departments of the faculty has also been brought in, arranged in restored period cabinets and in new fittings inside the laboratory.

The collection numbers over 305 instruments and devices: 105 of hydraulics, 140 of electronics, 66 of mechanics, 32 of geomatics, 7 of chemistry and 2 of physics. Among the pieces mentioned are 19th-century chronographs, a propeller used to determine the flow of the Tiber after the embankment walls were built, a 19th-century stereoautograph, telegraphs, and a model of an early 20th-century radio believed to have belonged to Guglielmo Marconi. The computerised cataloguing is only partial; the museum already hosts educational visits by groups of Italian and foreign students.

Highlights

• Over 305 instruments of hydraulics, electronics, mechanics and geomatics
• 19th-century chronographs and stereoautograph
• Propeller for measuring the Tiber’s flow after the construction of the embankment walls
• Early 20th-century radio model attributed to Guglielmo Marconi
• 19th-century telegraphs

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione di strumenti storici di ingegneria – Instruments and equipment of hydraulics, electronics, mechanics, geomatics, chemistry and physics from the laboratories of the Facoltà di Ingegneria.

Operated by

Sapienza Università di Roma – Polo museale

Director

Monica Moroni

Admission & discounts

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Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is at the Dipartimento di Ingegneria civile, edile e ambientale, in Via Eudossiana 20, at the San Pietro in Vincoli site.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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