Il Museo Astronomico e Copernicano e la collezione originaria di Artur Wołyński.

In 1886 Artur Wołyński was appointed curator of the new Astronomical and Copernican Museum, in charge of the collection that he himself had donated to the Italian government a few years earlier, with the act dated 8^th June 1882. The history of the Museum begins in 1873 with the celebrations of the 4^th centenary of the birth of Copernicus, held in Rome at La Sapienza University. The occasion gave birth to the idea of founding a permanent museum dedicated to the memory of the famous Polish astronomer who had revolutionized the conception of the world. Despite the great interest that the initiative awakened from the very beginning, many years passed before a definitive location for the Museum was identified, which was associated with the Observatory of “Collegio Romano”, then with the Astronomical Observatory of Rome in Monte Mario. The original collection of Copernican mirabilia was soon expanded by Wołyński with scientific material deriving mainly from Italian astronomical observatories. The Museum has thus become a complete compendium of astronomical instruments of a wide range of eras, ancient books and archival documents, which exhibit the evolution of astronomical knowledge from its beginnings to the present day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]