Italian
A special ranking reveals the treasures of watchmaking housed in historic palaces: clocks, music boxes, and unique masterpieces that tell centuries of art and ingenuity
ROME – Time is also measured with art. This is what emerges from the special ranking dedicated to the historic watches housed in Italian museums, which highlights a heritage of extraordinary beauty and value.
In first place is the Quirinale, with about two hundred examples of clocks and watches from the 17th-19th century, of which forty are on display. Many come from the main pre-unification royal residences and bear the signatures of masters such as Gilles Martinot, Denis Masson, and Pierre Latz.
In second place on the podium is the Royal Palace of Naples, which houses the extremely rare Clay Machine from 1730, one of only three examples in the world along with Windsor and the National Museum of China. The Neapolitan collection also features music boxes, automatic organs, and precious clocks related to the history of Joachim Murat and Caroline Bonaparte. Every week, master watchmaker Diego Ferventino takes care of winding and checking the mechanisms, ensuring the full functionality of these masterpieces.
In third place are the Museums of Genoa, with about fifty clocks of great historical and artistic value, including rare nocturnal examples from the seventeenth century made by Giuseppe Campani and Giovanni Pietro Callin.
The ranking continues with Palazzo Pitti in Florence, where the Medici collections testify to the meeting of art and science in the Renaissance, Palazzo Madama in Turin, and the Reggia di Venaria Reale, which houses twenty-six clocks of English and French manufacture from the 18th century.
This survey by the Ministry of Culture highlights how historical clocks are not just measuring instruments, but true works of art that tell centuries of ingenuity, science, and beauty, offering visitors a unique journey through time.
