Language
Contact “Radio is my father,” says Her Highness Princess Maria Elettra Ana Marconi-Giovanelli, daughter of radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, in an interview featured at the exhibition. Visitors can listen to an excerpt from this remarkable conversation on site.
Princess Marconi-Giovanelli reflects on her father’s legacy:
“He invented this extraordinary means of communication, making it possible to transmit messages wirelessly through the air. His goal was to save lives at sea. At that time, ships would sail for months without contact with their families and without any reliable way to call for help in emergencies.
Fascinated by electromagnetic waves, my father developed a strong intuition that they could be used for wireless communication. At just 21 years old, he built a radio system – a receiver. In the town of Sasso Marconi, he conducted one of his first experiments by sending a signal to his brother on the other side of a hill, instructing him to fire a gun upon receiving it. When my father heard the gunshot, he knew his invention worked.”
The interview with Marconi’s daughter has been brought to the exhibition by the Embassy of Romania.
What will you discover at the exhibition?
“A Century on the European Airwaves” presents the story of European radio and showcases beautifully designed radio sets from the early 20th century.
At the exhibition, you can:
- explore radios produced in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Latvia
- discover the most influential radio voices across Europe and their connections to Estonia
- listen to a unique 1937 recording – a historic broadcast bridge where radio voices from 21 European countries send New Year greetings and music to audiences around the world
- learn when different European countries began their radio broadcasting programmes
It is fascinating to see that broadcasting began almost simultaneously across Europe. In the early 1920s, the entire continent was ready for innovation in radio technology.
This exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of Estonian broadcasting. Notably, Finland and Ireland are also marking a century of broadcasting this same year.
The exhibition is part of the cluster exhibition “Tallinn speaking! A Century on Air.”
Team and supporters
The exhibition has been supported by: ERR, the Estonian Broadcasting Museum, the Estonian Museum of Natural History, the Estonian Broadcasting Union, Lipuvabrik OÜ, JYSK Linnen’n Furniture, the embassies of Romania, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Norway, Germany, Italy and Denmark, as well as many other supporters and volunteers.
Curator: Kertu Saks
Location: 21st floor of the TV Tower
Access: Included with a Tallinn TV Tower admission ticket
