Wednesday March 11 and Thursday March 12

Both Wednesday and Thursday of this week were very busy days. But I have little to post. We visited two of my favorite museums: the Museum of Medical Arts and the Museum of the Mind. But neither museum will allow us to take pictures.

The Museum of Medical Arts tracks the history of medicine in Italy. The museum includes many artifacts from personal collections. The artifacts include equipment as well as texts used since the hospital that houses the museum first opened 500 years ago. The museum also includes the historical developments in pharmacy from the use of opium for surgery to the use of natural Quinine in tree bark to treat malaria.

The other museum was the Museum of the Mind. This museum is devoted to the history of the state run mental institution in Rome. They also do not allow pictures. One of the interesting facts about the museum is that it is actually housed on the grounds of the abandoned state mental hospital. The museum includes audio and video interview clips with both former patients as well as employees of the hospital.