April 08, 2008 01:20 AM

I will be doing a reading of some of my work in Cordoba, Spain this Saturday night 12 April. I go to Italy afterwards where I look forward to visiting The Museum of Natural History, University of Florence which was founded in 1775 by Grand Duke Peter Leopold. The Botanical Gardens at the museum were begun in 1545. My area of interest is "La Specola" which forms a part of the Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze which has a collection traced back to the Medici Family. La Specola is known for wax anatomical models. I have a (treasured) book given to me as a gift in 1996 entitled " Anatomia Barocca " - Fotografie di Akira Sato. This was my first introduction to La Specola. I have viewed The Body Show of actual human bodies which has toured the world and also visited Mutter Museum several times. However, these detailed wax anatomicals in Florence hold a particular and vibrant fascination.