Gipsoteca di Arte Antica
University collection of plaster casts of ancient sculptures in the deconsecrated church of San Paolo all'Orto in Pisa, currently closed for works.
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About the museum
The collection of plaster casts, one of the first of its kind in Italy, was launched in 1887 by Gherardo Ghirardini, professor and archaeologist at the University of Pisa, as a teaching resource for students of archaeology. For a long time it had no permanent home; since 2005 it has been permanently displayed in the church of San Paolo all'Orto, closed to worship, in the centre of Pisa.
Today it holds around one hundred pieces, as many casts were lost, especially during the two World Wars. It includes replicas of Greek sculptures such as Hermes with the Infant Dionysus, Praxiteles' Resting Satyr, the Tyrannicides, the Apollo Belvedere and the Laocoön, as well as a cast of the Parthenon frieze, a copy of the Phaistos Disc and two Etruscan stelae that entered the collections in 1980.
The plaster cast gallery (gipsoteca) is part of the Sistema Museale di Ateneo (University Museum System) and also includes the Antiquarium and the Palethnological Collections. According to tourist information, the gipsoteca and the antiquarium have been temporarily closed since 30 December 2025, until the end of renovation works.
Highlights
- Casts of Hermes, Resting Satyr, the Tyrannicides and the Laocoön
- Cast of the Parthenon frieze
- Copy of the Phaistos Disc
- Two Etruscan stelae
- Located in the church of San Paolo all'Orto
Permanent exhibition
- Calchi in gesso di sculture antiche – Around one hundred casts of Greek and Roman sculptures, a cast of the Parthenon frieze and two Etruscan stelae, displayed in the church of San Paolo all'Orto.
- Founded
- 2005
- Operated by
- Università di Pisa – Sistema Museale di Ateneo
- Visitors per year
- approx. 15,452
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