Vesalius, Mattioli, Kircher. Scienza e Natura nelle biblioteche trentine.

The exhibition is part of the project Rigenerazioni: scenari antichi per un nuovo antropocene, in collaboration with MUSE. The project also includes a workshop, in conjunction with the exhibition, by artist Deborah Ligorio, which will be held on November 12th at MUSE.

Concept and scientific curatorship: Eva Struhal

Exhibition curatorship: Isotta Colangelo, Anna Mascellani, Sara Pierro

Exhibition design: Paolo Chisté

The exhibition aims to explore the role of scientific illustration during the 16th and 17th centuries. Drawing on Trentino's book heritage, examples have been selected from three major scholarly figures of the period: Andreas Vesalius, Pietro Andrea Mattioli, and Athanasius Kircher. Through illustrations from their most important treatises, the exhibition traces a line that unites different disciplines—respectively anatomy, botany, and astrology influenced by religious ideals—to clarify the essential function of images in the context of their writings, the fruit of ongoing field research. The panels guide visitors through the exploration of the collaboration between scientific research and artistic illustration, suggesting some previously unseen connections with current issues and proposing a common thread between past and present.

This project is being realized through the collaboration of four important Trentino libraries: the Vigilianum Diocesan Library in Trento, the "Gino Tomasi" Library of the MUSE, the "G. Tartarotti" Civic Library of Rovereto, and the San Bernardino Library Foundation in Trento. The prints on display are the result of scans provided by the libraries themselves and photographs taken by photographer Paolo Chistè, supported by students from the Department of Humanities and Philosophy.

The photographic campaign was carried out by: Paolo Chisté (TeFALab, LaBAAF, Department of Humanities and Philosophy, University of Trento); Eugen Behrens ("Gino Tommasi" Library of the MUSE, Trento); and the "Girolamo Tartarotti" Civic Library of Rovereto.

The exhibition will be held at the Department of Humanities and Philosophy of the University of Trento, in the North Atrium of Palazzo Paolo Prodi. It will open on October 30, 2025, at 6:00 PM and will remain open to the public from October 31, 2025, to January 31, 2026.

Guided tours by the curators will be held on October 30, 2025, and November 12, 2025.