Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca e della città di Cortona

About the museum

The museum was founded in 1727, when Abbot Onofrio Baldelli donated his collection of books, works of art and natural objects to the Accademia Etrusca, founded by the Venuti brothers. The following year a decree of Grand Duke Gian Gastone de’ Medici assigned the Accademia part of Palazzo Casali in Piazza Signorelli, where the museum and library were set up. The palace had been built in the 13th century by the Casali family and from the 15th century housed the officials of the Florentine governors.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the collections were enriched by gifts such as a porcelain temple from Carlo Ginori, an Etruscan bronze chandelier and Egyptian finds from Bishop Guido Corbelli. After the Second World War the museum occupied the entire piano nobile (main floor) of the palace, and the town received a bequest of works by Gino Severini, a native of Cortona, to whom a section has been dedicated.

After archaeological campaigns in the 1990s the museum expanded to the ground floor and basement. In 2005 it took the name MAEC and doubled its exhibition space. The offer also includes the Sodo archaeological area, with two Etruscan tumuli, and a dispersed park of Etruscan and Roman funerary monuments in the Cortona area. In 2027 the Accademia will celebrate three hundred years since its foundation.

Highlights

• Collections of the Accademia Etrusca from the 18th century
• Etruscan bronze chandelier
• Section dedicated to Gino Severini
• Sodo archaeological area with two Etruscan tumuli
• Tactile reproductions and Braille maps along the route

Permanent exhibition

• Collezioni permanenti del MAEC – Etruscan finds, the Accademia Etrusca’s historical collections and a section dedicated to Gino Severini in Palazzo Casali.

Founded

1727

Operated by

Accademia Etrusca e Comune di Cortona

Admission & discounts

Free admission also for residents of the municipality of Cortona and school groups, ICOM members, adults accompanying school and tour groups, licensed tourist guides, journalists with a press card and officials of the Ministry of Culture. Online tickets are valid on any opening day.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

A lift connects the ground floor to the second floor; rooms 16–23 and 26–29 on the second floor are accessible, while the rooms on the first and third floors can only be reached by stairs. Rooms 1–14 on levels -1 and -2 are reached by a small lift with the help of the ticket office staff. Accessible toilets on level -2; tactile reproductions and Braille maps along the route.

Kids & families

• Baby changing facilities

Baby-changing facilities on level -2.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Bookshop next to the ticket office with publications, catalogues, guides and gifts. Free lockers near the ticket office, while stocks last. Free public Wi-Fi (network “museomaec”).

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit