The “Cupolino” is a small astronomical dome built by the Brera Astronomical Observatory in the second half of the 19th century. It is located in the Brera Botanical Garden in Palazzo Brera, the “Palace of Science and Arts,” as it was named by Napoleon. The dome, made of masonry, is lined with wood on the inside and has a copper roof with an opening slit, capable of rotating on a metal track. The floor, a circular wooden platform, is suspended to minimize vibrations.

The Cupolino has played a crucial role in the past in providing essential services to civil society and is a fine example of international collaboration. Under the direction of Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli (1862-1900), a geodetic observation campaign was launched in 1870, planned with the Permanent Central Committee for the Measurement of the European Degree as part of a collaboration between Italy, Austria, and Switzerland, whose primary objective was to precisely determine the latitude of Milan and measure the differences in longitude between Milan and various other European locations. The observation campaign lasted several years, and the Cupolino soon became an essential astronomical station, used until the early 20th century.

The Restauration Project

Currently, the Astronomical Dome is in poor condition and can only be view from afar, preventing visitors from fully appreciating its historical, scientific, and architectural value. Thanks to funding from the Cariplo Foundation, through the “SOS Patrimonio” call for proposals, and the generous contribution of the Pomara-Scibetta Foundation, to which our own funds have been added, we could launch a restoration project that will secure and protect the property in order to make it accessible to the public.

The project involves the restoration of the metal parts of the dome and its rotation mechanism, as well as the wooden parts of the roof and floor. 

This project is the result of a virtuous and consolidated collaboration between two important institutions: the INAF-Brera Astronomical Observatory, who built the Cupolino and is the project leader, and the Brera Botanical Garden of the Universita’ degli Studi of Milan, which houses the Cupolino and with which the Observatory actively collaborates.

The project also actively involves experts in the conservation and diagnostics of cultural heritage, for the study of the current conditions and planning the interventions, and students, through ‘school workshops’,  that promote training and scientific dissemination of the intervention in progress.

Partners

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