Museo dell'Arte Classica

About the museum

The museum is commonly known as the Museo dei Gessi (Museum of Plaster Casts) or Gipsoteca. It was founded by the archaeologist Emanuel Löwy, who in 1891 established the first chair of archaeology in Italy at the Sapienza and the following year created a collection of plaster casts of original Hellenistic sculptures and Roman copies, for teaching purposes in his lectures.

The first home was on the ground floor of a building in the rione Testaccio. In 1925 the collection was moved to the Istituto di San Michele, and in 1935 it was placed in its present location, in the Città Universitaria, in the building that houses the Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia (Faculty of Letters and Philosophy).

Today the route is spread across 56 rooms with over a thousand plaster copies of works ranging from the Classical age to Late Hellenism. The museum is part of the Polo museale Sapienza and holds the largest collection of plaster casts in Italy.

Highlights

• Over a thousand plaster copies of Greek and Roman sculptures
• 56 rooms in the Città Universitaria
• The largest plaster cast gallery in Italy
• Collection created for teaching archaeology
• Copies of works from the Classical age to Late Hellenism

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione di gessi – Over a thousand plaster copies of Greek and Roman sculptures, spread across 56 rooms of the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy building.

Founded

1892

Operated by

Sapienza Università di Roma – Polo museale

Visitors per year

approx. 250,000

Admission & discounts

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Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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