Museo Francesco Faà di Bruno

About the museum

The museum is dedicated to Francesco Faà di Bruno (Alessandria 1825 – Turin 1888), army officer, mathematician, inventor, priest and tireless social worker in nineteenth-century Turin. It is located in the Istituto di Via San Donato, the complex he created as a “cittadella della donna” (citadel for women) to take in and support women in difficulty. It is run by the Congregation of the Suore Minime di Nostra Signora del Suffragio, which he founded in 1881. Faà di Bruno was declared blessed in 1988.

The route covers nine rooms and retraces the founder's life: his family, military career, studies and social works, up to his priesthood. The more technical rooms hold the first photographic cameras, instruments from the Institute's print shop and a rich collection of scientific apparatus, including some of his own inventions, among them a writing desk for the visually impaired, the ellissografo (ellipsograph) and the differential barometer, and one of the two known examples in the world of Foucault's telescope.

The visit also includes the apartment where he lived and worked, with his study and bedroom, a room of vestments and relics, the room dedicated to the beatification process and, since 2016, the Clock Room with the original mechanism of the bell tower. The bell tower, 75 metres high with a base of only 5 × 5 metres, was designed by Faà di Bruno himself.

Highlights

• Scientific instruments and inventions of Francesco Faà di Bruno
• Foucault's telescope, one of the two known examples in the world
• Private apartment with study and bedroom
• Clock Room with the original bell tower mechanism
• 75-metre bell tower designed by Faà di Bruno

Permanent exhibition

• Museo Francesco Faà di Bruno – Nine rooms with scientific instruments, personal belongings, vestments and documents on the life of the blessed Francesco Faà di Bruno, plus the Clock Room and the bell tower.

Operated by

Congregazione delle Suore Minime di Nostra Signora del Suffragio

Visitors per year

approx. 1,330

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is in the Istituto Faà di Bruno, Via San Donato 31, in the San Donato district of Turin.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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