The Petrifier. The Paolo Gorini Anatomical Collection by Ivan Cenzi

The solutions that the scientist adopted involved renown preservatives, like the famous mercury bichloride, higly toxic and even in Gorini's times often replaced by zinc chloride or bichloride. Gorini's empirism pushed him to always experiment new techniques, of which we don't have any proof save for what Alberto Carli published in 2005 on the international magazine 'Studi tanatologici', and later on other media. An anatomical collection between science and history To give you a contemporary example, the work of the scientist-artist Gunther Von Hagens (inventor of Plastination) while arguable is ideally similar to Gorini's, although the former uses silicon polymers. The injected substances, absorbing and replacing the internal bodily fluids, destroy the humid environment where the bacteria responsible of decomposition is born and bred. The simpler methods consisted of immersing the piece in an alcoholic solution the more complex operations involved deep and diffused injections in the vessels of the bloodless body. Paolo Gorini, who until 1857 was professor of physics and natural sciences in Lodi's Liceo Comunale (City High School), had developed various methods to create anatomical preparations. There are one hundred and sixty nine human and animal specimens, set up between 1834 and the mid 1870s to serve as museum for demonstrative and celebrative purposes. Inside the chapter house of the Ospedale Vecchio are gathered the specimens prepared by Paolo Gorini that have until now survived in Lodi. The visit (In-depth analysis: The preparation of Giuseppe Mazzini) Introduction

The Petrifier. The Paolo Gorini Anatomical Collection by Ivan Cenzi