Automata and Power in the Culture of Machines of Renaissance Florence, Milan and Venice (1400-1600)

Project Information

AUTOREN

Grant agreement ID: 101025015

DOI

10.3030/101025015

Project closed

EC signature date 9 April 2021

Start date 15 January 2022

End date 14 January 2025

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 269 002,56

EU contribution

€ 269 002,56

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - AUTOREN (Automata and Power in the Culture of Machines of Renaissance Florence, Milan and Venice (1400-1600))

Reporting period: 2024-01-15 to 2025-01-14

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Introduction:

Renaissance automata emerge as perhaps the most abstract compositions of occidental civilization, as observed by pioneering art historian Eugenio Battisti. As the dawn of cybernetics, robotics, and artificial intelligence unfolds, historians of technology reevaluate the role of European automata. The intricate nature of these symbolic machines, blending aesthetics and mechanics, beckons an interdisciplinary study approach – a call answered by AUTOREN.

The Challenge:

Despite thriving scholarship, a comprehensive history of automata in Renaissance Italy remains elusive. AUTOREN steps into this void, embarking on an innovative interdisciplinary project to unravel the mysteries of automata and bridge gaps in the historiography.

Significance for Society:

Automata, beyond being mere mechanical marvels, carry a profound intellectual message, challenging traditional notions of utility. Understanding the social, cultural, and material history of these symbolic machines becomes crucial to unveiling overlooked contributions to technological innovation, a quintessetial element of European identity.

Objectives:

Among the objectives of this research is the writing of the first history of Italian Renaissance automata between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. This narrative aims to capture epistemological continuities and shifts at the dawn of the Scientific Revolution. AUTOREN will utilize the regions of Milan, Venice, and Florence as privileged standpoints to identify European and Mediterranean cultural processes that shaped and financed the most innovative makers of Renaissance symbolic machines.

Among these, one can find the most complex devices ever built up to that time: the planetary or cosmomorphic automata illustrating all celestial movements. AUTOREN will explain their genealogy and their applications in the fields of astrology, cosmology, meteorology, medicine, and warfare. AUTOREN will also identify and highlight key Italian figures in the crafting of innovative automata that influenced other European regions.

Furthermore, AUTOREN involves a meticulous interdisciplinary analysis of an understudied corpus of Renaissance Italian anthropomorphic automata.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the initial two years of my MSC action (Venice and Pasadena), I focused on achieving specific objectives related to studying symbolic machines in the Renaissance States of Milan, Venice, and Florence. This endeavor involved comprehensive research, including the collection of primary and secondary literature in more than five languages. I extensively explored archival materials at several European and American archives, museums and libraries. At Caltech, I benefited from the guidance and feedback of numerous colleagues, particularly Prof. Mordechai Feingold, my supervisor, and Prof. Jed Buchwald—both distinguished authorities in the field of History of Science. At the Huntington Library, I was granted a dedicated bookshelf. Importantly, during my tenure at Caltech, I engaged with a research institute formed by the Huntington Library and Caltech. Eminent scholars, including Anthony Grafton and Dmitry Levitin served as visiting fellows. Interactions with them provided invaluable feedback that significantly contributed to refining my research. Additionally, my research led me to various collections in Europe and the USA, where I collaborated with curators to examine Renaissance automata and clockworks.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The archival missions conducted during the outgoing phase of my action have proven particularly rewarding, including the exploration of an impressive, previously undiscovered manuscript detailing theatre-related machines and automata produced in the entourage of Bernardo Buontalenti. Subsequently, I diligently pursued additional manuscripts related to this unpublished document, presenting new findings that promise to reshape the history of automata in early modern theatre.

Furthermore, two significant discoveries unfolded during my visits to the Archivio di Stato di Firenze. The first sheds new light on a hitherto obscure chapter in the history of early modern Italian automata: Tommaso Campani's once celebrated automata, but later completely lost. The second document holds the key to reassessing the previously universally accepted misdated arrival of the first pendulum-regulated clock by Huygens at the Medici court. This revised chronology is poised to rewrite the history of technology, offering a more nuanced and less linear narrative of the invention of the pendulum-regulated escapement.


Exploitation and dissemination:

Publications during this period include a peer-reviewed book chapter, three peer-reviewed articles, and four book reviews in prestigious journals. Furthermore, three more articles currently under peer review cover topics such as Cosmomorphic Automata, the contested paternity of Medici experimental instruments (including the pendulum-regulated clock), and the utilization of rock crystal in Renaissance machines. I have also delivered presentations at various international conferences and universities in Europe and the USA, sharing insights into the social and cultural history of automata.

Head of a late Renaissance automaton (Milan, private collection)