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  Everyone
knows about the more famous museums
and attractions in Italy – The Uffizi, St Peter’s, the Colosseum and
so on. For those looking for a bit of change from the normal tourist
route however, Italy also offers a surprising number of overlooked,
offbeat or just downright strange attractions, from a memorial to
plague victims to an eye-twisting ceiling. Below are just a few
selections:
1. The Museum of the Souls of Purgatory
This quirky little museum situated in a small building
next to the Church of the Sacred Heart of Sufferance (Sacro Cuore
del Suffragio) is the legacy of French Priest Victor Jouet. In 1897,
a fire burned down the chapel of Madonna del Rosario that had once
stood on that spot; after the flames had died down, it was
discovered that the smoke had left the mysterious image of a
suffering face on one side of the altar (you can still see it in an
ancient photograph in the museum). Father Jouet examined the
impression and came to the conclusion that it was the image of a
soul in Purgatory. From then on, he dedicated himself to collecting
similar spirit-signs from around Belgium, Germany, Italy and France,
and by the end of his life, had collected hundreds of clothes,
books, shirts and other materials that had been ‘touched by the
dead’. The story of each find is described, and a tour past the
displays make for an eerie counterpart to the more usual visits to
churches and museums.
The Museum of the Souls of Purgatory is located at 12 Lungotevere
Prati; Tel: 6540517. Open Sunday 9 A.M. to noon. No admission
charged.
2. Trompe L’Oeils: Borromini Perspective Gallery and the Fake
Pozzo Dome
The Renaissance Masters are famous for their mastery of all the
techniques of painting, and one of their favourite techniques was
the use of trompe l’oiel, literally ‘fool the eye’. In Rome, there
are two famous examples of this technique: the Borromini Perspective
Gallery and the Fake Pozzo Dome (pictured above).
The first is located on the ground floor of the Galleria Spada. Upon
entering the courtyard, through a glass door and beyond a small
formal garden, visitors will be forgiven for thinking they are
seeing a long colonnade stretching into the distance, ending at the
foot of a grand statue of Mars. Despite the evidence of their own
eyes, the optical illusion is just a cleverly painted 9 metre
hallway, and that grand statue is barely 1 metre tall! The optical
illusion was carefully painted by Francesco Borromini, who skilfully
reduced the dimensions of the colonnade as it receded, making the
passage look almost twice as long as it really was. If you ask
nicely, the guard may let you into the garden, where you can examine
the painted wall more closely.
The second trompe l’oiel is actually the dome of the Church of Saint
Ignatius (Chiesa di Sant Ignazio). If you’re sharp, you might notice
as you enter that the roof is actually flat - legend has it the
residents around the church didn’t want a big old dome blocking
their morning sunshine, so the builders had to go with an
alternative. Once inside though, if you stand exactly on a
particular marble disk in the pavement and look up, you’d swear a
dome was soaring up above you! This particular optical illusion was
painted by Andrea Pozzo in 1685 on a canvas 15 metres wide, and only
really works if you stand on that exact spot. Anywhere else, and it
looks disconcertingly as though the ceiling is about to collapse.
The dome itself isn’t the only trompe l’oiel in the church, as
nearby the ceiling is covered with a painting representing the
admission of Ignatius into paradise, and also makes use of false
perspective.
The Galleria Spada is located at Piazza Capo di Ferro 13 and is
open every day from 9.30 a.m.- 7.30 p.m (closes on Mondays, 1
January & 25 December). Tel. +39 06 6832409. Admission is EUR 5. The
Church of Sant Ignazio is located at Piazza Sant'Ignazio, Rome and
is open every day from 7 am to 12:30pm, and 3:30 pm to 7pm.
Admission is free.
3. La Specola
This famous museum in Florence is noted for its collection of
incredibly lifelike wax anatomical models, which were legitimately
used for study purposes by medical students. There are about 1500
statues representing the other ailments the medieval Florentines had
to deal with, but perhaps the best known are the ones known as the
‘Plague Waxes’. When the Black Death ran rampant throughout Europe
during the Middle Ages, Italy was especially hard hit, as almost
half of its population was lost to the ravages of the plague. To
truly capture the horror of the time, artisans used moulds made from
the cadavers of plague victims to create anatomically correct,
uncomfortably realistic wax statues. Thought-provoking, but possibly
not something you’d want to visit just after lunch.
La Specola is located in the Natural History Museum of the
University of Florence, Zoological Section at Via Romana 17. Open
Thurs-Tues 9am-1pm. Admission is EUR 5.
4. The Original Ice Man
In Bolzano, a middling-sized town in Northern Italy, visitors can
stop by the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology to take a look at one
of the oldest men in Italy – Oetzi, who went to sleep 5,000 years
ago and got covered by a glacier. Only recently found by German
tourists a few years ago, the Ice Man (as he is informally known to
scientists and journalists the world over) has been a tremendous
find for local archaeologists, as they piece together how the
ancients lived. You can learn all about the find and the later
research by perusing the displays and the audioguides, and even
catch a glimpse of the man himself, still looking as though he might
wake up at any moment.
The South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology is located at Museumstrasse
43, Bolzano. Tel: 320100. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5.30
pm (closes on 1 January, 1 May & 25 December). Admission is EUR 8;
guided tours available for additional EUR 2.
5. National Museum of Pasta
Actually, this probably doesn’t count as strange, since it is Italy
we’re talking about, homeland of all things pasta. Located in Rome,
this museum offers a neat look at every stage of pasta making, from
the Grain Room where you’ll see the durum grains being pulverized
into powder, to the Ligurian Room where you can count all the
different kinds of pasta that can be made and the Napoli Room, where
you’ll see photos of celebrities enjoying pasta dishes. Of course,
after learning all about pasta, the best place to continue is in a
restaurant for a real life sample!
The National Museum of Pasta is located at Piazza Scanderbeg,
114/120 – 00187, Rome. Tel: 6991120. Open every day including
Sundays from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm. Admission is free.
6. National Etruscan Museum (Museo Nazionale Etrusco)
Not quite quirky so much as it is overlooked, this museum has the
world’s best collection of all things Etruscan, and is located in
the Palazzo Ruspoli, a beautiful Renaissance Villa in the Borghese
Gardens, Inside, there’s everything from statues to coffins, but two
of the most popular displays are the miniature collection and the
Castellani collection. The first is an amazing gathering of
figurines, depicting everything from chariots to sword and
teeny-tiny plates, in fact almost everything used in daily life. Why
they were made is still a mystery, much like the Etruscans
themselves, but there are thousands of the charming miniatures and
they are well over 2500 years old. The second item is the
spectacular Castellani collection, which comprises of coins, gold
and some breathtaking jewellery.
The National Etruscan Museum is located at Piazzale di Villa
Giulia 9 Rome 00196. Tel: 3201951. Open Tuesdays to Sundays at 8.30
am to 7.30am. Admission is free.
7. Medieval Criminal Museum
For a stark reminder of just how gentle our modern penal system is,
look no further than this museum in Tuscany, which documents the
many brutal punishments doled out during the unenlightened medieval
ages. There’s everything from stretching racks, thumb screws,
knee-splitters, spiked collars and even more gruesome tools. Many of
them are original relics from ancient dungeons, while others are
replicas no less stomach-turning for never having been used. There’s
a model of the infamous Iron Maiden here as well. Definitely not for
the faint of heart, or tender of stomach.
The Medieval Criminal Museum is located at Via del Castello 1/3,
San Gimignano, Siena. Open from 10:30am to 7:20pm. Admission is EUR
5. Guided tours are available on request.
8. National Museum Of Musical Instruments
Music lovers will find special enjoyment at this particular
attraction, which collects well over 3,000 musical instruments in
one place. From bells to whistles, pan pipes and drums, every
recognizable (and a few very unusual) musical instrument is
represented here. One of the most valuable items in the museum is
the piano of Bartolemeo Cristofori, one of the three oldest in the
world; another particularly valuable item is the gilt-covered
Barberini Harp of 1600.
The National Museum of Musical Instruments is located at 9 Piazza
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme; 7575936. Open from 9 am to 1:30 pm;
closed Mondays and Sundays. Admission is EUR 1.50.
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