Dear MMDs,  To answer a question asked by John McClure, I advise when
you want to find which museums are housed in a country, to have a look
at the web pages Musica Mecanica.  You will find a listing of over 200
museums throughout the world.  [See http://www.musica-mecanica.com/ ]

I am surprised by the reaction of Bill Klinger, because I visited twice
the museum in Roma, which is very interesting. Sure it is hard to find,
and it has certainly very few visitors, but the instruments displayed
there (mechanical or not) are quite interesting.

Antonio Latanza, the curator, is a very interesting man, very
knowledgeable about pneumatic pianos, and he produced quite a lot of
interesting CD's, even if the technical quality of the instruments
is uneven.

If you are too lazy to view the web site for Italy, here is what I know
(the museum in Ravenna is difficult to visit, but it is a huge
collection, especially of barrel pianos):

1) Museo di Strumenti Musicali Meccanici,
48020 Savio (Ravenna), S. S. Adriatica 16, km 163
(borne kilometrique 163 sur la N16).
Direttore : Famiglia Marini
Tel. + 39 (0)544/560547
Visits by appointment only

2) Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti Musicali, Pza S. Croce
in Gerusalemme, 9-a, 00185-Roma.
Direttore : Dr Antonio Latanza
Tel. : ++39-(0)6-7029862

3) Villa Lattes
via N. Sauro, 50
Istrana (Treviso) Veneto
Tel. + 39 0422/738159
Automates, carillons et horloges (clocks/Uhren)
"Museo Specializzato, proprieta pubblica"
Orari: aperto 9-12 martedi e venerdi, 9-12 e 15-18 sabato e domenica,
chiuso lunedi, mercoledi e giovedi (dal 21/3 al 21/11), chiuso gli
altri mesi (dicembre, gennaio, febbraio. Marzo riapre il 21)
Ingresso L. 3000

"In una villa del 1715, opera di G. Massari, si puo osservare una
grande e particolare collezione di automi e carillons, e una importante
raccolta di orologi del XVII e XVIII secolo.  Interessante anche
l'arredo della villa, con mobili e suppellettili originali dal XVII
al XIX secolo".

 [ "In a 1715 villa, the work of G. Massari, one can observe a great
 [ and particular collection of automatons and carillons, and an
 [ important collection of clocks of the 17th and 18th century.
 [ Interesting also are the villas furnishings, with furniture pieces
 [ and original furnishings from the 17th to the 19th century."

Best regards,

Philippe Rouille  (Paris, France)
http://www.cnam.fr/museum/musica_mecanica/