The astronomical projects of Fontana never reached completion. From the beginning it appeared clear that to satisfy the will of Peter Leopold – according to whom the observatory must be housed in Palazzo Torrigani – it would have signified to conduct astronomical research from an disadvantageous position, that is, in the lowlands and in the centre of the city. Soon added to this were the physical difficulties of finding abroad the costly astronomical instrumentation indispensable for precise observations and the constructing of, in the workshops of the Museum, a great graduated circle which was never accomplished. The complicatedness of the situation in the end was accredited to the contrasts in the management of the Museum between Fontana and his assistant, as well as future successor, Giovanni Fabbroni (1752-1822). The concomitance of many problems determined the decline of the Florentine “Specola” even before it was put to use. Around 1795 the existing instruments were no longer functional and the roof was leaking rain.
Newtonian Telescope
Leto Guidi; 18th C.; wood, brass
Built by Leto Guidi (1711-1777) monk of the Vallombrosian order, creator of an observatory in the abbey of Saint Bartholomew in Pistoia, the instrument is inspired by the Newtonian telescope illustrated by Jean-Antoine Nollet in Leçons de physique expérimentale (1743-1748).
Newtonian Telescopes
Second half of the 18th C.; wood, brass
The three instruments are testimony to the wide diffusion of the Newtonian type telescope at the end of the18th century. The mounts (azimuth type) emphasize the various technical solutions adopted to move the telescope tube in the horizontal or vertical without applying excessive force.