"La Venerina" wax anatomical model at Palazzo Poggi in Bologna.

“La Venerina” wax anatomical model at Palazzo Poggi in Bologna.

Steve wants to use one of the female wax anatomical models from La Specola in Florence as the subject of a panel for his comic. We know there are several anatomical museums in Bologna, which is a lot closer to Verona, so for our romantic Valentine’s Day, we take the train and visit the Palazzo Poggi Museum. Steve will use their “La Venerina” as a substitute. The collection of wax models is much smaller than the one at La Specola, but we are very pleased to find the original woodcuts from Fortunio Liceti’s Monsters, as well as some gorgeous botanical woodcuts (all ca. 1665).