Tech Stories: 150 years of Politecnico di Milano through science and technology stories

The Politecnico di Milano and the people that contributed to its history seen through objects of the collection of the National Museum of Science and Technology of Milan

Enrico Forlanini’s experimental helicopter, detailNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Curious objects from the Museum collection tell the story of some of the main historical events regarding the Politecnico di Milano, 150 years after its foundation

Many stories have been written throughout the life of the Politecnico di Milano. These are not merely stories about engineering, architecture and design, nor simply about technical discoveries or scientific innovations. These are stories about people whose work – and above all their passion for what they believe in – has marked the progress of humanity and changed the history of society. If today we take an airplane flight, or visit a museum, or have easy access to electric energy, we owe this to them as well.

Macchi MC 205 V, detailNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

For the first 150 years of the life of the University, we’d like to relate this history in a slightly different way: from the point of view of objects, and in particular, those that are on exhibit at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ and which have close connections with the events relating to the Politecnico.

Pressa a mano per stampaggio di materiale termoplastico, dettaglioNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

It will be objects, then, that tell us a story: if we know how to listen to it, through their voices, we will learn about a Politecnico of which we have no knowledge or memory. These have been identified in accordance with itineraries, both physical and intellectual, which we are calling “Roads”, selected to correspond to some of the most significant protagonists involved with the Politecnico.

Giuseppe ColomboNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Giuseppe Colombo sparks of energy

Giuseppe Colombo expresses fully the intellectual climate characterizing Italy between the 19th and 20th centuries. A farsighted entrepreneur, he was one of the promoters for the establishment of the Italian electricity industry. In 1883, on his own initiative, the first electrical power station in continental Europe was started on Via Santa Radegonda in Milan. In 1896, Colombo became president of the Edison power company. He also held important political roles: between 1886 and 1900 he served as Deputy, Minister of Finance, Minister of the Treasury, President of the Chamber of Deputies, and Senator of the Kingdom of Italy.

Regina Margherita Thermoelectric PlantNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

The “Regina Margherita” thermal power plant

Installed in Egidio and Pio Gavazzi’s silk factory, the power central was utilized for lighting the spaces and powering the operation of the looms. it was inaugurated in 1895 in the presence of Umberto i and Margherita of Savoy, and continued operating until 1950. it consisted of a steam engine with two horizontal cylinders constructed by the Legnano workshop officine Franco Tosi, combined with a pair of alternators produced by Brown Boveri, a leading company in the electromechanical sector.

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The Queen Margherita exhibited at the entrance to the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan

Motore Diesel SavoiaNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

The Savoia diesel engine

This single-cylinder diesel engine had a power output of 60 hp at 30 rpm. Dating from the 1920s, it was donated by the Politecnico di Milano to the Museum in 1970. it was long employed for didactic purposes in the industrial Mechanics Department laboratory, and Giuseppe Colombo also used it for his practical exercises. The reduced number of students in courses at that time allowed the professor to follow each pupil individually.

Edison DynamoNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

The Edison dynamo

Originally at Europe’s first thermoelectric power plant, inaugurated in 1883 on Via Santa Radegonda in Milan, in the near vicinity of the Cathedral, where a theater once stood. The power plant was used for producing direct current electric energy for lighting the city and remained active until 1922. The facilities were demolished in 1926, and the Cinema odeon now stands in their place.

Regolatore tachimetrico a pressione d'olioNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

The Riva speed regulator

Giuseppe Colombo shaped generations of engineers, many of whom went on to found industries in widely varied production sectors, giving an economic boost to italy. Among these were Alberto Riva, who founded Riva, a company best known for its design and construction of hydraulic turbines, and Guido Ucelli, its director. Based on a centrifugal speed sensor, this regulator was patented in 1901.

Enrico ForlaniniNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Enrico Forlanini the beginnings of flight

Enrico Forlanini was not simply an engineer, an aeronaut, and a man of science, even though research and experimentation made a significant mark on his life and work. Nor was he merely an entrepreneur, even while quite capable of founding and successfully managing industries, a distinctive feature of many men of the Politecnico during those years. Forlanini was above all an innovator, a man capable of believing in and realizing his dreams.

Dirigibile Leonardo da VinciNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

He is known for his outstanding contribution to the evolution of flight during its pioneering epoch, and we are indebted to him for many key achievements relating to the conquest of the sky, as well as to scientific progress. His studies for the helicopter are significant, leading to the construction of an experimental helicopter with contra-rotating blades, the first machine heavier than air to succeed in rising from the ground. Also worth mentioning are the series of airships used for over 30 years in military and civil aviation, and the hydroplane, capable of flying over the water and forerunner to the modern hydrofoil.

Enrico Forlanini’s experimental helicopterNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Enrico Forlanini’s experimental helicopter

Enrico Forlanini created an experimental helicopter powered by a steam engine operating two contra-rotating propellers. This is the first “heavier-than-air” machine that was able, even without a pilot, to take off in flight. in 1877 it was presented at the Giardini Pubblici in Milan, where it rose from the ground and reached a height of 13 m, for a flight of 20 seconds, in the presence of prominent personalities in the fields of entrepreneurship and science.

Macchi MC 205 VNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Macchi MC 205 V

Many aircraft designers in the early decades of the 20th century can ideally be considered pupils of Forlanini. Among these a prominent place belongs to Mario Castoldi, who graduated from the Politecnico in 1913, becoming technical director of Aeronautica Macchi, for which he designed several aircraft. The MC 20 V, a fast, maneuverable fighter plane, entered into service in 1943 and was a protagonist in many events in the Second World War.

MOTORE AERONAUTICO - ISOTTA FRASCHINI ASSO 750National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Isotta Fraschini Asso 500 aircraft engine

Cesare Dal Fabbro, the founder of isotta Fraschini, was the first professor of aeronautical science (1910) at the Politecnico di Milano. in 1900 he met Forlanini and established a friendship with him, as well as embarking on a collaborative effort: together they designed the hydroplane, the forerunner of the modern hydrofoil, and the entire ‘F’ series of Forlanini airships. This water-cooled 60° V-12 engine was part of a family of modular engines that made use of common and interchangeable components to ensure lower production costs.

Giulio NattaNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Giulio Natta material structure and a Nobel prize

After graduating at the age of just 21, Giulio Natta joined the Politecnico’s Istituto di Chimica Generale, then one of the most active research centers in Italy. Beginning in 1938 he served as Chair of Industrial Chemistry at the Politecnico di Milano for 35 years. In Milan he directed the Istituto di Chimica Industriale and carried out important research for the production of synthetic rubber, and in 1954 he succeeded in establishing a laboratory for polypropylene.

Giulio Natta’s polypropylene modelNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

After the Second World War, he met engineer Piero Giustiniani and began his work with the Montecatini company. This was one of the most fruitful collaborative efforts between university and industry in the postwar period, leading to the production of some 4000 patents. The scientific community awarded Giulio Natta the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1963 in merit of his extraordinary invention of isotactic polypropylene. The social consequences of this discovery were numerous in every sector, and led to the industrial production of an irreplaceable material.

Giulio Natta’s countertop and polypropylene modelNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Laboratory workbench and polypropylene model

This object, dating from around 1950, comes from the laboratory used by Giulio Natta at the Politecnico di Milano. We could ideally conceive that the isotactic polypropylene for which Natta won the 1963 Nobel Prize in chemistry was created on it. Also on the workbench are anastatic copies of some autograph pages penned by Natta, and beside them is a spatial molecular model of isotactic polypropylene. Exhibited in the display case in front of the workbench are copies of the medal and diploma for the Nobel Prize.

Pressa a mano per stampaggio di materiale termoplasticoNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Press for molding thermoplastic polymers

The press consists of a mold divided into two equal parts and a plunger. The mold constitutes the negative of the object to be made, and the plunger, actuated by a hand lever, compresses the polymer into the mold, electrically heated beforehand. once the operation is completed, the plunger is removed, the mold is opened, and the object realized can be extracted.

Pettine decorativo in celluloide e galalite 1920-30National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Montedison Collection

The Montedison Collection consists of many objects made of technopolymer. The Rabolini Collection formed its original nucleus, which was collected and enlarged by Anna Rabolini between 1975 and 1982. it comprises 517 pieces dating between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century and provides an interesting testimony of the fruits of the collaboration between Natta and Montecatini.

Sgabello La Bohème/ 8883National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

‘La Bohème’ stool

Giulio Castelli, a pupil of Natta, graduated from the Politecnico in 1949 with a degree in chemical engineering. That same year he founded Kartell, an internationally affirmed company, recognized for its innovative production of furnishings made of plastic. in 1956 Castelli was among the founders of the Associazione per il Disegno industriale, which promoted the Compasso d’oro award. These objects are two characteristic examples of Kartell’s production.

Giovanni Battista PirelliNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Giovanni Battista Pirelli the birth of a new material

Giovanni Battista Pirelli is a fundamental character in the rubber industry in Italy and, consequently, in all the numerous industrial sectors utilizing this material. In 1872, he founded the “G. B. Pirelli & C.” company for production of rubber articles. In a few years, in addition to tubes, belts, and rubber canvases, the company was producing carpets, waterproof fabrics and clothing and many items for haberdashery, typography, sanitary use, and toys.

Semipneumatico Pirelli CelerflexNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

In 1879, it began producing cables and wires for transmission of electrical energy and communications, rapidly becoming a world leader. In 1883, it began production of elastic yarns for weaving, and between 1884 and 1887, production of underwater cables. Beginning in 1899 it provided cables for the hydroelectric plant on the Niagara in Canada, realized by the Riva company. Initially, its production of tires was aimed primarily at bicycles, then beginning in 1901, with the birth of the first Italian automobile tire, called Ercole, it began also providing for cars and trucks.

Spezzoni di fili e di cavi sottomarini per telegrafiaNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Underwater cables for telegraphic use

In the 1880s, the Pirelli company began production of copper cables for underwater use, essential for the emergence of intercontinental telecommunications. Given the importance of this new industrial sector, Pirelli commissioned a cable-laying vessel and had it built expressly in England. With the Città di Milano, as it was christened, he became entirely autonomous in every phase of the cabling of a network, from production to installation. Thanks to the Città di Milano and to other similar ships launched subsequently, the Pirelli company laid thousands of kilometers of cable in both italian and foreign waters. These cables, predating Pirelli’s industrial production, represent an example of those that would later number among the company’s most important products.

Mescolatore per gommaNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Rubber mixer

The mixer is a fundamental machine for the working of rubber. This specimen, dating back to 1948, is based on the same criteria as the machines that would subsequently be designed and produced: two cylinders with horizontal axes rotate in opposing directions and at slightly different speeds, thus carrying out the mixing procedure. The cylinders are moved by a system of belts and pulleys driven by a motor located at the lower part of the machine.

Ruota con pneumatico con battistrada Pirelli tipo NNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

“N” type Pirelli tire

The birth and development of tires is a key condition for the progress of road transport. This tire from 1915 represents the production example that made Pirelli famous, more than any other, in the eyes of the greater public. The creation of a tire occurs through the packaging of the compound that combines the rubber – natural, synthetic, or both – with other ingredients such as carbon black, used as “filler” to give greater mechanical strength, and a mixture of oils to increase the degree of workability. Thus was born rubberized fabric, which constitutes the resistant element of the tire.

Giovanni Virginio SchiaparelliNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Giovanni V. Schiaparelli the measure of the universe

Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli, a renowned Italian astronomer, was director of the Osservatorio di Brera between 1862 and 1900. Graduated in Turin in 1854, in 1857 he went to the observatories of Berlin and St. Petersburg to further refine his astronomic studies. He carried out important research on the connection between meteors and comets, and on the planet Mars, on the surface of which he observed a network of linear structures that he called “canals.”

Pagina del diario di Schiaparelli relativa alle osservazioni di MarteNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Schiaparelli is considered the ideal initiator of the Politecnico’s great school of topography and geodesy: his appointment as professor of geodesy predates the founding of the University. He was also one of the proponents for the creation in Milan of a center of higher education having a scientific and practical character. Conditioned by the strong development of industry, Milanese astronomy needed to demonstrate its practical implications for productive activities in order to be able to appeal for funding available to sciences with industrial applications. The scientific industry could thus avail itself of the results of research conducted by institutions and, in turn, finance them.

Equatorial sectorNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Equatorial sector from Jeremiah Sisson

This telescope is one of the oldest used at the osservatorio Astronomico di Brera. it has a long axis positioned toward the Celestial North Pole, and the objective is composed of a pair of lenses 10 cm in diameter (no longer present). Using this tool, on 26 April 1861 Giovanni Schiaparelli performed the first scientific discovery of the newly united italy: he found a new asteroid which he christened Esperia, after the Greek name of the italian peninsula. With Sisson, Schiaparelli studied the comet 1862 ii, by means of which he succeeded in giving a correct scientific explanation for the phenomenon of shooting stars. These two discoveries earned him a reputation that he made use of in asking the new italian government for financing for the purchase of a more modern instrument. With the new telescope, Schiaparelli began his campaign of studying the planet Mars, which would lead to his discovery of the celebrated canals and would bring him worldwide fame and recognition.

Equatorial refractor telescopeNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Equatorial refractor telescope la Filotecnica Salmoiraghi

This instrument came into use at the osservatorio Astronomico di Brera during the 1930s. Commissioned by then director Emilio Bianchi, it replaced the one utilized by Schiaparelli for his first studies on Mars, but for various reasons, it did not have the same scientific success. Already underpowered with respect to the standards of the times, it was primarily used for astrometric studies.

Strumento dei passaggiNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Transit instrument Salmoiraghi, Rizzi e C.

Presented at the 1894 Esposizioni Riunite di Milano, this type of instrument can be used for measuring the positions of the stars in the sky with great precision and represents the evolution of the oldest mural quadrants and meridian circles. Throughout its history, the Salmoiraghi company produced a wide range of tools and accessories for astronomical observations, compiling a catalog of products representing one of the most important examples of ingenuity and adaptability of the times.

Guido UcelliNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Guido Ucelli science, technology, and culture

Fervent and passionate advocate for the spread of scientific enlightenment, Guido Ucelli is an example of the integration between scientific and entrepreneurial skills put to the use of science and technology. Thanks to his intellectual and technical contribution, as well as his financial support, two Roman ships were recovered from the bottom of Lake Nemi between 1928 and 1939. The two craft, exceptional in terms of size, technological importance, and archeological interest, would later be destroyed during the II WW.

La facciata del Museo negli anni '50National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

With Cesare Beltrami, a designer who graduated from the Politecnico di Milano, in 1922 he produced the San Giusto, a small car with decidedly innovative technological features: four-wheel independent suspension, hollow central backbone chassis, and air-cooled rear-mounted 750 cc engine. Eleven of these were produced, ending in 1925. Promoter and founder of the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia (originally ‘Tecnica’) inaugurated in 1953, Ucelli served attentively as its president until his death in 1964. He monitored every aspect, from the definition of objectives to the identification and restoration of the headquarters, from the organization of interior spaces to the gathering of the collections, from the outfitting of the displays to the didactic apparatus.

Progetto di Portaluppi per la sistemazione del Museo della Scienza e della TecnicaNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Reconstruction project changing monastery to museum

The building that today houses the Museum was formerly the olivetan Monastery of San Vittore, and later the Villata barracks. After the war-induced destructions, it was selected in 1947 for the headquarters for the Museum upon the initiative of a group of engineers and architects of the Politecnico di Milano: Guido Ucelli, Francesco Mauro, Enrico Agostino Griffini, Piero Portaluppi, and Ferdinando Reggiori. it was inaugurated in 1953 with a major exhibition on Leonardo da Vinci. Guido Ucelli, who had long urged the scientific and political world to constitute an industrial museum, attentively followed the restoration works to the site and would chair the Museum with dedication for many years.

Girante di turbina PeltonNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Pelton turbine wheel

Under the direction of Guido Ucelli, the Riva company grew from the industrial, technical, and commercial points of view. The significant technological development and the major increase in markets made the company a worldwide example of excellence. in 1922 the Pelton turbines destined for the Moncenisio-Venaus plant were constructed. After the 12,000-hp Peltons for the Grosotto plant, these turbines constituted an important technical conquest, because they exploited an exceptional fall of water, of more than 1000 m, reaching a power of 26,000 hp.

La Nave di Caligola del Lago di NemiNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Reconstruction of Caligula’s ship on lake Nemi

The undertaking to recover the Nemi ships, longed for since the Renaissance and returned into vogue in the late 19th century, saw the personal commitment of Guido Ucelli. he provided the hydraulic machinery utilized to empty Lake Nemi, and he provided careful technical monitoring with sensitivity to the archaeological value. The emptying of the lake and the coordination of the teams employed would even today be two complex undertakings. one can only imagine what it must have been like in the 1920s. The ships brought to light were archaeological finds internationally recognized for their importance. They were burned during the war, and the only things remaining today are the reconstructions visible at the Museo delle Navi Romane in Nemi and part of the bronze decorations at the Museo Nazionale Romano at Palazzo Massimo.

Francesco VecchiacchiNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Francesco Vecchiacchi a window on the world

Francesco Vecchiacchi is one of the precursors of radio bridges and television. Beginning in 1932, he directed the Magneti Marelli radio laboratory in Milan, and in 1937 he chaired the Electrical Communications Department at the Politecnico di Milano. In 1939 he contributed to the creation of the first multi-channel radio link: Milan-Cimone-Terminillo-Rome. That same year, he realized the first Italian television broadcast, with shots in the studio, outdoors, and live.

Televisore a valvole, bianco e nero, a consolle, a visione indiretta - Magneti Marelli RV 300National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

He was also among the scholars who realized the first Italian radar (G.U.F.O.), installed in 1941 on the battleship Vittorio Veneto. In 1952 he built the first microwave radio bridge between Turin and Milan for the television service, demonstrating the possibility of extending the network throughout Italy. Subsequently the Milan-Palermo bridge was realized, designed by Vecchiacchi and built after his death.

Magneti Marelli television camera

Between 1938 and 1939, under the direction of Vecchiacchi, the Magneti Marelli laboratories at Sesto San Giovanni built this television camera for the first italian broadcasting experiments, making use of patents of and collaboration by RCA and Vladimir Zworykin. The scene shot is projected on the electronic tube, which converts the light signal into an electrical signal. After being suitably processed, this is broadcast via radio. The scene can only be shot live.

Tubo da ripresa televisiva di Zworykin - IconoscopioNational Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Television shooting tube, called the “iconoscope”

This device, developed by Vladimir Zworykin and patented in 1934, was utilized by Vecchiacchi in the Magneti Marelli laboratories for realization of the Milanese company’s first television camera in 1939. The shooting tube is made up of a glass ampoule under vacuum, which contains the hot-filament electronic “cannon” and a screen made from a “mosaic” of photosensitive cells.

Televisore a valvole, bianco e nero, midget - Magneti Marelli RV 175National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo Da Vinci

Magneti Marelli television set

The technology for electronic television developed in italy beginning in the mid-1930s at the hands of three large companies: Magneti Marelli (RCA system), Allocchio Bacchini (Telefunken system), and Safar (Telefunken derivative system). This model, the RV 300, was built in 1938 by Magneti Marelli on Francesco Vecchiacchi’s design, in collaboration with RCA. The cathode ray tube is oriented vertically and the images are reflected by a mirror.

Credits: Story

Exhibition by
Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia
Leonardo da Vinci

Via San Vittore 21
Milano

www.museoscienza.org

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