The homepage of the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in
Florence can be found at http://galileo.imss.firenze.it
Not only can you take a virtual tour of the museo but, under News, the
homepage currently has a great collection machinery designed by the
Renaissance Engineers. Of special interest to me is the work of Brunelleschi
who designed the dome for Santa Maria del Fiori, the incredible duomo or
cathedral of Firenze. If you are interested in the construction of the dome
itself, there is a small Museo del Duomo across the piazza from the cathedral
which contains models of the dome and of some of the machinery used in its
construction. I have used my pictures, slides, and video of this cathedral
and the machines developed by Brunelleschi, such as the first reversible
hoist, in place of a "pulley-and-lever" study of simple machines. My
students are always very impressed with what was accomplished with these
"simple" machines hundreds of years ago.