The ‘Marconi Relics’ Examining Artefacts at Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Guglielmo Marconi’s birth, the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci reflects on the historical artefacts and documents collected in Marconi’s name. How did this cultural heritage reach us and what does it tell us today about the history of media technology? Marconi was a key figure in the foundation of the Museum, and his Company used the public display of artefacts as a modern communication tool. In this volume, the heritage of the ‘Marconi relics’ preserved by the Museum becomes the starting point for raising new research questions on Marconi’s protagonism not only in the industrial field, but also in the cultural field. Scholars from different disciplines – history of science, media studies, STS, history of industry, art history, museology – turn their gaze to selected elements of the collections to offer alternative perspectives on the canonical celebration of Marconi’s biography. The trajectories traced by these stories allow us to explore the cultural context that accompanied the global affirmation of wireless and mobile communication, enriching the ritual narrative around Marconi’s name with new actors and lesser-known details.