As an optical instrument, the magnifying glass was well known by both the
Greeks and the Romans: infact, Seneca described the magnifying capacity
of a thick glass disk filled with water.
The museum has many examples of magnifying glasses made in the period
between the XVI century and the first decade of 1900. The materials used
were quite varied: gold or silver for those unique and expensive models,
horn or copper for those more common objects. But in all versions, this
instrument represented more than anything else a useful tool for daily
work or study.
