Glass jellyfish, singing flames and stars of bits

Impressions inside the Science and Technology Foundation in Florence

Glass jellyfish in the Science and Technology Museum Foundation in Florence. Photo by Gabriella Bernardi

I discovered that glass jellyfish exist, and they are fascinating. Once upon a time, not too long ago, it was common practice to commission artisans to create objects that reproduced animals or plants for the study of the world and its phenomena.

This was no easy task, and the best artisans challenged each other using techniques that they carried with them beyond life, as in the case of the ceramist Garnier Valletti.

But here my eye was drawn not to the reproduction of fruit, but to the cases that preserve splendid, almost transparent jellyfish that seem to float in the air.

If you are curious, this video below explains everything about them.

We are in the Science and Technology Museum Foundation in Florence houses the largest collection in Italy and one of the most comprehensive in Europe of scientific and teaching instruments from the second half of the 19th century.