IGNAZIO PORRO, Experimental/Prototype Telescope, Officina Filotecnica - Milano, 1864

Experimental telescope prototype, personally made by Ignazio PORRO, in a single specimen, when in 1864, in Milan, professor Ignazio Porro, well-known scientist, professor of optics, inventor of the optical prism, inventor of exceptional measuring instruments still used today, inventor and forerunner in the field of wide-angle lenses, he founded the Officina Filotecnica Milano, a sort of "school-workshop" whose production was limited to experimental pieces, unique or at most reproduced in very few specimens.
It is currently the only known telescope made by Ignazio Porro with the brand name of his workshop: Officina Filotecnica Milano.

Its total length is approximately 168 cm and it is in a fully functional state.

History of the Filotecnica Workshop - Milan:

Initially, rather than a real company, it was a "school-workshop" whose production was limited to experimental pieces, unique or at most reproduced in very few examples. In 1870, engineer Angelo Salmoiraghi, who had been Porro's student at the Milan Polytechnic, joined the company. He transformed Philotechnics into a competitive industry, also expanding the production sectors.

From 1877, production of the first Italian sewing machine began. At the end of the century, with the collaboration of Francesco Koristka, the offer of lenses and precision optical instruments was expanded and improved.

After Salmoiraghi's death (1939), the company was incorporated into IRI. The company was merged into Salmoiraghi & Viganò and the production of technical-scientific instruments ceased several years ago.