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Osservatorio Geofisico | Geophysical Observatory 241

ichembach and Ertel, the Amici’s transit instrument and Newton Tele-
scope, the Astronomic Pendulum, a Fraunhofer’s telescope and others.
As many of these instruments are still kept in the same premises where
they had originally been used - this is a case almost unique in Italy - it
was possible to refurbish the premises and recreate a 21st century study
and research environment.
The importance and prestige of the Observatory is also confirmed by
the fact that in 1850 it had been the location of the metric laboratory
of the Duchy of Modena, and in charge of introducing the new Deci-
mal Metric System in the Duchy. Perreaux’s Comparator and Dividing
Machine, built in Paris in 1850, are still kept in the museum of the
Geophysical Observatory.
Meteorological data were reported next to astronomic observations.
The daily written observations also reported historical facts, including
the revolutionary risings of 3 February 1831, with Giuseppe Bianchi
standing up to protect the Estense dynasty against Ciro Menotti.
Meteorological monitoring still continue today, supported by auto-
matic instruments. The long historical series of meteorological data,
guarded inside the Observatory of Modena, is one of the few Italian
series of uninterrupted duration, carried out in the same place and
without any relevant changes in the instrument position.
With the fall of the Estense government and the subsequent expulsion
of the Bianchi, after a short period in which Tacchini was ruling, Do-
menico Ragona succeeded and meteorological measurements increas-
ingly became the main activity of the Observatory, which therefore
was given the name of Meteorological Observatory. In that period, the
second half of the 19th century, the meteorological activity was then
enhanced, thus creating the first local rainfall network in the province
of Modena. In the observatory, state-of-the-art tools were designed
and created and are unique still today, such as the rain gauge with

The East tower, home to the Observatory, Modena (photo by AB) Scale interne alla torre dell’Osservatorio Geofisico, Modena (foto AB) Internal staircase in the tower of the Geophysical Observatory, Modena (photo by AB)