The “Enrico Bernardi” Museum of Machines houses a selection of internal combustion engines, each of which left its own mark on the history of motorised transport in Europe in the second half of the 19th century.
All of the engines on display – from the atmospheric engine he built in 1878 and the single- and double-acting cylinders of the Motrice Pia (1882-1884, which worked on the basis of a mixed cycle using atmospheric and direct pressure), to the four-stroke Lauro engines (1887-1896), the engine-driven single-wheel attachment used to propel a standard bicycle (1893, a forerunner of the modern motor scooter) and the iconic 3-wheeled “car” – were built by Enrico Bernardi.
All of the engines have recently been restored to working order following instructions in Bernardi’s own notebooks. Visitors can see the engines in operation on the museum’s video screens.
Bernardi’s three-wheeled vehicle had the registration number 42-2. The registration document is still conserved in the archives of the Padova branch of the Automobile Club d'Italia. It is still perfectly operational, and can proceed on a level surface without any need for reconfiguration.
The museum also houses a number of the notebooks used by Bernardi to record his ideas and the results of his work, alongside a selection of drawings illustrating components of the engines on display.
In keeping with recent trends in the field of museum design, the museum seeks to engage visitors on a number of levels, and using a variety of media from video clips to interactive screens relaying technical explanations of the pieces on display.

“Enrico Bernardi” Museum of Machines
Via Venezia, 1 – 35131
Part of the Department of Industrial Engineering
Tel. +39 049 8276700 - 049 8276750
email: museo.bernardi@unipd.it

Curator: Fanny Marcon
Tel +39 049 8276850
email: fanny.marcon@unipd.it

Visit manager: Alberto Benato
e-mail: visite.museobernardi@unipd.it

Department of Industrial Engineering (DII)
Via Gradenigo, 6/a – 35131 Padova
Tel +39 049 8277500 – fax +39 049 8277599
email: direzione@dii.unipd.it

Head of Department: Prof. Fabrizio Dughiero

Departmental delegate to the museum: Prof. Giovanna Cavazzini
e-mail: responsabile.museobernardi@unipd.it