Padua, the flag from the Islamic world to today’s Europe

A bridge between civilizations and cultures. Cross enrichment between the past and the future. Joint construction project of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Padova

To raise awareness of scientific developments, from the contributions of the Islamic world to physics and astronomy today. This is how the project presents itself Science from the Islamic world to Europe today Proposed by the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Padua and funded by the University of Padua

a project Which brings together the University of Padua with the city to highlight the exchanges and cross-pollination between different countries and cultures

“The contribution of Islamic culture to science in the Western world is greatly underestimated – he claims Andrea ColacioCounselor of Culture and Tourism in the Municipality of Padua -. Nevertheless, the Islamic world was, at least for several centuries, very fruitful in the studies of mathematics, physics, and astronomy. We can also confirm that the Islamic civilization introduced the concept of study based on experience and observation of its results many centuries before this happened in the West. This important initiative of the University of Padua, in which the municipality participates with great interest, Presents an unknown aspect of scientific history and on At the same time, it establishes relations with the Islamic world very stimulating contemporary

” This initiative is a very important opportunity thanks to her Culture becomes a means of social cohesion – explain Francesca PincioliniAnd the International Cooperation and Peace Adviser in the Municipality of Padua -. In this, the role of the University of Padua in promoting the contribution each culture has made to science as we understand it today is fundamental to giving value to all people and to our common humanity. Recognize the contribution of all cultures to scientific and cultural progressin addition to strengthening social cohesion, it allows us to Promoting cultural diversity and identities Of the many communities in Padua, also represented by the Committee for the Representation of the Paduan People of Foreign Nationality“

Team

From December, young people from the Department of Physics and Astronomy and from members of the local community, of all nationalities, particularly members of the Muslim community, will work in synergy to develop their science communication project. These groups will work in synergy, in a continuous exchange of ideas and knowledge, using the rich collection of scientific instruments of the Giovanni Pollini Museum.

” First of all, it should be emphasized – He says Sophia Talascurator of the Pollini Museum – What are the distinguishing elements of the project? Inclusion and active participation of citizenswith the creation of mixed working groups, composed of young people from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Padua and people from the local community, of all nationalities, particularly members of the Muslim community”

Proposals for the collections can also become an integral part of the educational presentation of the Giovanni Pollini Museum, and the project participants will be able to continue to present them to the public, becoming long-term collaborators with the management and the Poleni Museum. It is still possible to register to participate in working groups by sending an email to [email protected].

Events

In parallel with the work of the groups, the project also provides Many popular events Aimed at audiences of all ages who will take turns lessons-demonstrations Also in costume for children and families, Tours At the Giovanni Pollini Museum

Conferences

Even in the organization Conferences We wanted to emphasize the intertwining of different cultures and disciplines, and highlight the role that developments in Islamic sciences play. Thanks to cooperating with i Civic Museumsit was possible to arrange Conference Course From archeology and art to the history of science to the current frontiers of physics and astronomy (see introductory program in dedicated section). The first conference will be held on November 30 With Taha Arslan, from Istanbul University, who will discuss Islamic sciences. The interweaving of disciplines is underlined not only by the themes of the different conferences, but also by the different venues where these conferences will be held: the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the Giovanni Pollini Museum, the Romanino Room in the Civic Museums of Padua. .

Displays

In the context of the International Year of Glass, the exhibition is also an integral part of the project glass. From Roman antiquity to space probes. organized in Giovanni Pollini Museum

The absolute protagonist of the exhibition It will be glassOn the occasion of the International Year of Glass proclaimed by the United Nations for the year 2022.The exhibition that will be opened Presented on December 16th public Physical properties of glasshighlights the different methods of producing this substance and some of its uses in everyday life, the arts and sciences, from Roman antiquity to the Islamic era, up to today’s groundbreaking research in physics and astronomy.

Many of the historical instruments of the Giovanni Pollini Museum, made in whole or in part of glass, will also be the protagonists of the exhibition, which features a wide path between the different rooms and display cases of the museum itself. This is the case, for example, from glass plates subordinate Radiographs from the end of the nineteenth centurywhich will allow to discuss the transparency properties of the glass during the examinationThe use of glass in electrostatic generators in the eighteenth centuryto understand why it is an excellent electrical insulator.

Featuring different levels of reading, the exhibition will see the fusion of art with science thanks to the inclusion in the windows of the Pollini Museum’s permanent exhibition of many of the Zuckerman’s Museum of Applied Arts’ glass art pieces: the scientific instruments of the Pollini Museum. Therefore, the eighteenth, eighteenth and nineties will coexist with the artistic discoveries of the same years, to make the public discover new aspects of human activity, which are always characterized by joint or parallel developments of art and science.