Una volta nella vita - Once in a lifetime

A detailed journey through the trasures of the archives of several authorities in Florence.

From the most important archives such as the Archivio di Stato (National Archive) where the birth certificate of Leonardo written by his grandfather is kept along with the criminal law of 1786 sactioning the end of death penalty in Tuscany through Pietro Leopoldo), to the Biblioteca Nazionale (National Library) with autographs and letters of Galileo, including his very special letter written to Madama Cristina Di Lorena, which is considered the smallest book the in the world, printed with tiny handmade fonts. In the same library you can see the Diaries of one of the most influencial Italian poets, Eugenio Montale, and his fascinating litographies. From the Marucelliana Library a wonderful drawing by Raffaello, but also the italian translation from English of Italian poet Ugo Foscolo, and the very first Mickey Mouse comic strips of 1932. 

From Museo Horne the revolutionary code which was used to translate latin into vernacular written by Leon Battista Alberti "Il Cane - The Dog", and many more resources from the Guicciardini Archive and its letters from  Savonarola, the Dante Society Library, with the first ever illustrated edition of La Divina Commedia, commented by neoplatonic Landino in 1481, and the first translation of the Comedy in vietnamese, and resources from the Military Geographic Institute, featuring photo albums by zoologist  Enrico Hillyer Giglioli, two of them dedicated to Japan dating back to 1866 and 1867.

Curator:  Marco Ferri, journalist and chief of communications of Polo Museale Fiorentino, passionate about Florence and Tuscan History, and fouder of the magazine "Medicea- Interdisciplinary magazine dedicated to medicean studies".