The Museum of Science and Technology welcomes Nelli scholar Catherine Turrill
Lights, camera, action
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Science and art meet for Nelli
Florence’s Museum of Science and Technology recently welcomed AWA’s crew, during filming of the upcoming TV documentary on the restoration of Plautilla Nelli’s Last Supper, produced by WFYI Media and Bunker Film (Release date to be announced!) In the fascinating library of this little-known museum boasting over 50,000 items from naturalistic models, industrial machines and books, we interviewed top Nelli scholar, US art historian Catherine Turrill who has been tracking Nelli’s art ‘footsteps’ since the 1990s. According to Dr. Turrill, the museum has an unexpected connection to Nelli's convent! In the 1800s, after the expulsion of the nuns, Santa Caterina in Cafaggio became an arts and crafts conservatory, home to the ‘mechanical arts’ collection the Museum of Science and Technology displays today. ‘Librarian Laura Faustini and Collections Curator Stefania Lotti ‘opened’ an old-fashioned anatomical model ‘on camera’ which sparked discussion on the idea that Nelli studied anatomy using the corpse of a fellow nun—an idea that began circulating in the nineteenth century.