Museum of Radio and Television, Turin
Museum of Radio and Television in Turin (Museo della Radio e della Televisione) is an interesting technical corner in the middle of a city filled with old noble houses. But the Italians are also proud of their inventors, among whom there is the author of one of the first radiotelegraphy systems. The museum presents the history of the development of telecommunications from the beginning to the present day.
History of the museum
The idea of creating a radio museum dates back to 1939, and belongs to the company Ente Italiano Audizioni Radiofoniche, that was responsible for general management of the radio network and scientific research in the technical field in Turin. The project was not implemented because of the Second World War. The initiative was renewed only in 1965 by an expert committee headed by the technical director of EIAR. In 1968, they placed collections of objects and documents in the historical building of the company. After the demolition of the old premises in 1980, the exposition of the museum found temporary shelter in the production center of RAI. Only in 1984, thanks to the work of the director of RAI – Romeo Scribani, the first permanent exhibition "Radio, the history of sixty years: from 1924 to 1984" began its work. After a significant replenishment of the collection with new exhibits, the museum opened again for visitors in 1993.
Exposition of the museum
Museum of Radio and Television in Turin stores more than 1500 exhibits in its collections. Among them there are a lot of documentation, as well as various technical devices, from the era of the discovery of radio waves to modern inventions. The exhibition route includes such branches as telegraphy, telephony, radio and television, and is divided into several parts:
- Epoch before Marconi. This part presents the original models relating to the inventions that preceded the experiments of Guglielmo Marconi. Among them, the first generator of static electricity authorship Alessandro Volta in 1799, various types of telegraph devices of the mid-19th century, as well as the telegraph of David Hughes in 1855.
- The dawn of the Italian radio. There are many exhibits from the beginning of the 20th century, by the help of which the development of technical devices can be clearly traced. This includes the transmitter used by Marconi for the first experiments in 1895, the magnetic detectors of 1902, and the first industrial radiotelephone in 1911. It stores devices used to transmit information by the army, many old radio sets, and the first electromagnetic microphone, through which a pilot official broadcast was conducted in 1924.
- The blooming of the radio. After 1930, radio was no longer a luxury item and was used everywhere. Here you will find ancient microphones, gramophones, receivers, tape recorders. And these objects range from the smallest to the largest and most luxurious, from stationary to portable.
- Economic miracle. After the war, there was a significant leap in the development of technology. In this part of the collection there are also widespread devices and professional equipment used in radio and television studios in the second half of the 20th century: piezoelectric microphones, the first cameras for telecasts in 1954, studio projectors, dynamic and portable microphones. For the older generation, this part will become a real journey in childhood, because many exhibits from the collection will be very familiar to them.
- Between the past and the future. This part of the exposition shows the integration of information technologies and telecommunications into the life of society and their rapid development. If for one generation VCRs were the usual thing, then it is possible that the next generation will no longer know what they looked like.
This museum is a real gem not only for machine lovers, but for everyone who is looking for something new and unusual among bored hiking trails.
How to get there
The museum is located in the administrative and historical center of Turin, on Via Giuseppe Verdi, 16. Nearby there is the National Museum of Cinema and one of the symbols of the city, the Mole Antonelliana. One of the largest in the city Vittorio Veneto Square is stretched a few blocks away. The nearest public transport stop is Rossini. Trams № 7, 13, 15, and buses № 13N, 55, 56, 61, N04, N10, S04, W01, W15, W60 go to it.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, from 9:30 to 19:00. The last excursion is at 18:00. Phone number (+39) 011 810 4360.
Free admission. Data of April 2018.
