Discover the exhibition
In the Forests of Borneo
The travels of Odoardo Beccari in the lands of the White Rajah
November 15, 2025 – February 15, 2026 | Museo La Specola, Florence
video transcription
In Borneo, the largest island of Malaysia, an English Rajah and an English Ranee rule with pure autocracy a State which in area equals England and Wales, and has its fleet and its army, yet is without telegraphic communication with the rest of the world; possesses not only no railroads, but no roads, and is clothed by dense and interminable forests in which wanders the orang-utan. Here the natives live a primitive life, are in part still mere savages, true man-hunters, who delight in hanging in their houses the smoked skulls of their human victims…
Odoardo Beccari, 1902
Odoardo Beccari (1843-1920), a brilliant and restless Florentine, was an explorer and naturalist in every sense of the word and a leading figure in the Italian scientific culture. Best known for his botanical studies, his interests ranged widely, from zoology to ecology, from anthropology to viticulture. 160 years after his departure, the Natural History Museum of Florence, which preserves some of the most precious legacies of his work, wishes to celebrate him with an exhibition dedicated to his first journey to Borneo.The exhibition explores Beccari himself,the places and the sometimes dramatic changes that the territory has undergone over time compared to what he witnessed.
Last update
29.12.2025