Visit the astronomical domes and telescopes, observe the Sun and the Sun through a telescope, and experience the spectrum of sunlight. With three domes and a guesthouse, the Schiaparelli Observatory is the largest public observatory in Italy.
On the top of the Campo dei Fiori the “Salvatore Furia” Natural Sciences Citadel has stood for over half a century, destined for scientific dissemination, nature visits, young people, to share an experience of research and useful use of free time, “a bridge of understanding between science and the people”.
Mainly intended for public observation, visits and educational experiences led by volunteers; however, it also allows for high-level amateur research. Research is also cultivated as an important prerequisite for quality dissemination.
DAYTIME VISITS
The Schiaparelli Astronomical Observatory is open to visits even during daylight hours and offers educational tours suitable for both adults and children. The visits, lasting approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, include:
Visit to the astronomical domes and telescopes for astronomical observation and scientific research
Observation of the Sun through the telescope and experiments on the solar light spectrum at our Heliophysics Laboratory
Presentation of the Solar System and the main astronomical objects: nebulae, star clusters, galaxies.
Video projection of multimedia material with commentary from a guide
EVENING VISITS
The “G.V. Schiaparelli” Astronomical Observatory organizes evening visitsboth on Saturday evenings and during the week, upon reservation.
Given the considerable number of people who want to visit the facility every year,the wait for evening visits is on average 3-4 weeks, sometimes even more.
For schools and groups in general (over 10 people) evening visits do not take place on Saturdays but only on weekdays.
The evening lasts about 2 hours and the starting time varies according to the season.
The visit includes an internal introductory presentation on the history and activities of the Citadel and a visit to one of the astronomical domes.
At the end, weather permitting, there will be external astronomical observation of the constellations with the naked eye and of the main stars at the telescopes, both the external educational ones and the new 50cm telescope present in the historic dome.
Furthermore, you can observe old museum pieces, such as the “Merz Coke” telescope from 1902, a true forerunner of scientific research, visible right in the Campo dei Fiori laboratory.
The visit is also carried out in uncertain or cloudy weather conditions: in this case external astronomical observation will not be guaranteed, which will be replaced by a simulation of the celestial vault using special astronomical software.
The Observatory is located at 1230 m. high, and temperatures are usually about 5 degrees lower than in the city.
The car park is located 700 meters from the Observatory, and the road is uphill.
Therefore, appropriate clothing is recommended, especially in the winter period (warm clothing and comfortable shoes).
We also recommend using a flashlight to illuminate the path to be followed on foot.
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