MUSLI – Museo della Scuola e del Libro per l'Infanzia

About the museum

MUSLI is the main offshoot of the Fondazione Tancredi di Barolo and since 2006 has been part of the museum system of the City of Turin. It combines attention to local history with the history of education and children's publishing in Piedmont, without losing sight of its international dimension.

The Museo della Scuola was created in the historic rooms of Palazzo Barolo and evokes, in a participatory way, the school of the 19th and early 20th centuries, with particular regard to the initiatives developed in the palazzo by the marquises, such as the infant schools, and to the school of the time of “Cuore”. The route spans four floors of the oldest wing of the palazzo and is designed as a period and experience museum, with ample space for playful learning. Since 2023 it also includes a section on schooling in pre-unification Italy, starting from the educational commitment of the marchioness Giulia di Barolo, with rare teaching materials, engravings and paintings on the school imagination between the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Pop-App Museum, opened in December 2025 in premises made available by the Opera Barolo, is the evolution of the route on the history of children's books begun in 2008 with the acquisition of the spaces in Via Corte d'Appello and of the old cellars, where the Tipografia Editrice Eredi Botta was active between 1869 and 1903; it has been reconstructed with period materials and machinery. The route celebrates the great classics, from Pinocchio to Alice, the theme of illustration and the relationship between books and media, and devotes an itinerary to pop-up books: the collection counts more than 1,500 Italian and foreign copies, from the 16th to the 20th century, aimed in particular at children.

Highlights

• Museo della Scuola with 19th and early 20th-century classrooms over four floors
• Section on pre-unification schooling and the educational work of Giulia di Barolo
• Pop-App Museum with over 1,500 pop-up books from the 16th to the 20th century
• Reconstruction of the Tipografia Editrice Eredi Botta (1869–1903)
• Biblioteca fantastica and educational workshops at weekends

Permanent exhibitions

• Museo della Scuola – Route over four floors of Palazzo Barolo evoking the school of the 19th and early 20th century, with a section on pre-unification schooling.
• Pop-App Museum – Route on the history of children's books and pop-up books, with a reconstruction of the Tipografia Editrice Eredi Botta.

Operated by

Fondazione Tancredi di Barolo

Visitors per year

approx. 13,477

Admission & discounts

The standard ticket for the Museo della Scuola (€6) includes the guided tour; the Pop-App Museum costs €8 and the combined ticket €10. Admission is free for children up to 10 years old, holders of the Abbonamento Musei Piemonte, holders of the Passaporto Culturale (one child under 12 months and two accompanying adults) and journalists with a press card.

Accessibility

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

MUSLI is only partly accessible to people with mobility difficulties: the Museo della Scuola has architectural barriers, while the Pop-App Museum is fully accessible.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Workshops for families and children every weekend: on Saturday at 16:30, calligraphy with a quill and inkwell; on Sunday at 16:30, paper-engineering activities on pop-up books (1 hour, €5 per participant).

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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