Contact person: Prof. Stefano Ratti
The "Luigi Cattaneo" Anatomical Wax Collection is part of the Museum System Network of the University of Bologna and houses an extensive collection of cataloged specimens of normal and pathological human anatomy. It illustrates the path taken by medical science scholars in the 18th and 19th centuries, when, having acquired knowledge of the true nature of the human body, they focused on investigating its diseases and congenital malformations. The call of Cesare Taruffi (1821-1902) to Pathological Anatomy teaching, a chair established in Bologna in 1859, gave a remarkable boost to the creation of museological models of pathological morphology. The wax preparations, natural bones, and dried specimens (by Giuseppe Astorri and Cesare Bettini) form an important core of educational and research material that complements the 18th-century collection of normal human anatomy (by Ercole Lelli, Anna Morandi Manzolini, Clemente Susini), thus representing a continuum in the medical study that thrived in the city of Bologna between the 18th and 19th centuries. The wax models are presented by highlighting the scientific process that led to their creation. The researcher-professor would conduct detailed morphological and structural studies on normal or pathological anatomical specimens and collect cases of anomalies or congenital malformations; they would present the results of their research to the scientific community during a lecture at the Academy of Sciences, accompanied by a publication featuring printed iconographic documentation. In their research laboratory, in addition to the dried specimen, the professor would keep the wax model created by the sculptor, which faithfully reproduced the real appearance of the analyzed case. This method of working was also common among many scholars at the University of Bologna in the 19th century. This rigorous scientific approach over time transformed the collection into a highly effective tool for documenting clinical cases of educational interest and led to the creation of a treasure trove of immense scientific and artistic value.
