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Inserted in the Best Italian Web Sites on the History of Italy, the 20-01-03:

PINAKES: A modelling environment for scientific heritage database applications

[http://www.pinakes.org]

"Pinakes is a non-commercial tool the aim of which is to offer a renewed historiographic approach to the classification of the scientific heritage. Thanks to the integration of different types of objects, such as instruments, manuscripts, texts, iconography a.o., Pinakes aims at transforming the traditional approach to the primary sources of the history of science into a sort of archeology of scientific knowledge. In order to achieve this ambitious project it was necessary to design a model of data-base, Pinakes, able to bring different classes of objects and items into one environment.

Thus, Pinakes offers both the possibility to develop a specific research within a restricted disciplinary target and the possibility to carry out large classification of libraries, archives and museums.

Pinakes has been thought as a database capable of hosting different levels of data structuring. On the basis of the choiche of the target, the user might be able to manage data form a very specific level to a more general description of the items classified.
Pinakes is a relational database and is divided into three different bodies:

PinakesMain (Main engine and general input interface)
PinakesText (Text retrieval and structuring engine)
PinakesWeb (The remote access interface)

PinakesText can also be used during insert phase from the PinakesMain interface but it can work as a stand-alone database for project that focus only on text retrieve.
PinakesPerson is an archive of standardised person names (international naming rules for persons) that comes with PinakesMain and offers the advantages that all projects using PinakesMain will have a coherent and unique name index. The same rules and advantages are given for PinakesPlaces.

Pinakes input forms, help and the remote access interface are available in four languages (Italian, English, German and French).

Pinakes has been build within the research framework activity of the Istituto Museo di Storia della Scienza (Florence) and in collaboration with the following European institutions: Blanceflor Foundation (Stockholm), CNRS (Paris), Istituto & Museo di Storia della Scienza (Florence), Office for History of Science - Uppsala University (Uppsala), Uppsala University Library (Uppsala)."


AVAILABLE PROJECTS IN MAY 2005

The Theatre of Nature of Ulisse Aldrovandi (2001) [http://www.filosofia.unibo.it/aldrovandi/]
General Catalogue of Aldrovandis manuscripts (3500 documents). Catalogue of the illustrated volumes concerning the classification of animals, plants, flowers and minerals (2900 ca. coloured tables). The Iconography concerning Aldrovandi (31 portarits). Critical edition of a part of Aldrovandis correspondence (127 letters). Digital edition of the scientific autobiography of Aldrovandi: "Discorso Naturale". The biography of Aldrovandi by Fantuzzi is available entirely in digital form. (Italian Minister for University and Scientific Research, University Library of Bologna, The "Federigo Enriques" Interdepartmental Research Centre for Epistemology and Science History, Bologna University, Palazzo Poggi's Museums)

Parnassus Scientiarum (2000 - in progress) [http://193.206.220.40/waller/]
General Catalogue of the Waller collection of medicine and science at the University Library of Uppsala (Sweden) (University Library of Uppsala, Office for the History of Science, Uppsala University, Institute and Museum of History of Science - Florence)

Universo di Galileo (1999 - in progress) [http://193.206.220.68/aspconc/occorrenze.html]
Digital Archives of Galileo Galilei's life and works. (Institute and Museum of History of Science - Florence) Remote text retrieval (test version) "Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi"

Panopticon Lavoisier (1997 - 1999) [http://193.206.220.40/lavoisier/]
General Catalogue of the Lavoisier Papers at the Archives de l'Académie des Sciences in Paris (France). (Archives de l'Académie des Sciences - Paris, Comité Lavoisier - Paris, Institut Culturel Italien - Paris Institute and Museum of History of Science - Florence, Musée Lecoq - Clermont-Ferrand, Musée national des techniques (CNAM)- Paris)

Kircher correspondence project (1997 - 1999) [http://193.206.220.68/kircher/start.html]
General Catalogue of the Correspondence of Athanasius Kircher at the Archive of the Gregorian University in Rome. (Pontifical Gregorian University-Rome, Institute and Museum of History of Science - Florence, Italian Ministry of Universities and Research, European University Institute -Florence.)

Scientific manuscripts catalogue (1996 - 1998) [http://193.206.220.68/start.html]
General Catalogue of the scientific manuscripts at the National Central Library in Florence (Italy). (Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage, National Central Library - Florence, Intitute & Museum for History of Science - Florence) "

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Last updated the 18th of May 2005.