The Man Who Knew Everything: The Strange Life of Athanasius Kircher
ROME 1655
T he carriage rumbled through the maze of narrow cobblestoned streets As it passed by people pointed and chat tered Queen Christina of Sweden one of the most brilliant and fascinating women in all of Europe had just arrived in Rome and the whole city was clamoring to meet her But the queen had refused all the invitations to glittering parties Instead she wanted to go to a museum Not just any museum mind you the Kircherian Museum a collection of the most exotic unusual and awe-inducing objects the world had to offer 3
Finally the queen’s carriage stopped before a long pale-pink marble building and her coachman opened the heavy gilded carriage door A man in dark priest’s robes stood by the build ing’s massive carved entrance But this was no ordinary priest This was the most famous scientist in all of Europe Athanasius Kircher Queen Christina exclaimed as she raced up the steps toward him I’ve been dying to meet you 4
The Man Who Knew Everything S tep inside the Kircherian Museum Feast your eyes upon the strangest wonders ever collected under one roof A mermaid’s bones A brick from the Tower of Babel A statue that speaks Marvel at strange fossils and exotic animals at mag netic clocks and musical machines Behold Egyptian obelisks covered in mysterious hieroglyphics a hall of mirrors and more curiosities than you could ever dream of
