The Department of Mathematics owns a remarkable collection of mathematical models, one of the most important in Italy.
The models represent different mathematical objects, in particular surfaces. Most are made of plaster, but some were constructed using other materials as well.
Most date back to the decades between the end of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX century. At the time they were used both for didactic and for scientific purposes.
The collection consists of more than 160 elements and includes, besides the models, some mathematical instruments, among which one of the few remaining examples of Pascal integraph and the famous “Beltrami’s cap”, a paper model of a portion of the hyperbolic plane built by Eugenio Beltrami in 1868.
The collection is a part of the Museum System of the University of Pavia.
You can visit the website by Valeria Olivati (created in 2001), which presents most of the collection.
