The Astronomy Park of Loiano, located on the northern Apennines, is run by the Astrophysics and Space Science Observatory of Bologna (a section of INAF, Italian National Institute of Astrophysics). The Park has two telescopes, a planetarium, an educational hall - all in separate buildings - and the Solar System Path.
The historic Zeiss telescope, with its main 60cm mirror, was built in the 1930s, and is dedicated to teaching and outreach. The digital planetarium offers shows and projections for grown-ups and children. The educational hall is formed by several rooms containing multimedia exhibits, where children can follow brief talks, watch video material, o take part in hands-on learning activities. The Solar System Path, a model which reproduces the relative scales of the sizes of, and distances between the planets, connects the planetarium to the building which hosts the 152cm Cassini Telescope, which is dedicated to scientific research by the professional astronomers of INAF. The Path can be visited in daytime. Visits to the Zeiss telescope, planetarium, and educational hall can be booked for the open dates of the Astronomy Park.
