"Horror Vacui?" has purpose-built exhibits which show off the theatricality of the first experiments on the vacuum. These experiments have a fascinating quality about them. The section "The theatre of the marvellous operations of air", inspired by a baroque stage-set (Atlas, who supports the vaults of the heavens), gives the visitor the sensation of being 'immersed' in the vacuum. Visiting the working machines of "Horror Vacui?" is like plunging into a room of marvels: you're not just a passive spectator of physical phenomena of exceptional importance - you also get to share in the emotional and intellectual bewitchment of the discovery of the vacuum.

[ Next | Previous | Presentation | Index | Italiano ]