Museo della Scuola Paolo e Ornella Ricca

About the museum

The Museo della Scuola “Paolo e Ornella Ricca” (MUDESC) is part of the Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism of the University of Macerata. The collections, which grew through donations from private individuals, bodies and associations, as well as purchases and loans, have been arranged by historians, educationists and cultural heritage experts in a chronological route from the mid-19th century to around the 1980s.

The museum occupies the first floor of the Centro Direzionale in Via Carducci. The rooms tell the different periods of Italian schooling with interactive displays, digital projections and display cases: the school of the 19th century, the timeline, satchels and objects of the pupil, school desks, the classroom of the Fascist period and the “scuole dimenticate” (forgotten schools).

The heritage includes school and reading books, teachers’ and children’s magazines, the archives of teachers and educationists, school registers and photographs, furniture and teaching aids, notebooks, satchels, snack boxes, blackboards, nibs and educational games. The museum also offers guided tours and workshops for children and families.

Highlights

• Chronological route through Italian schooling from the mid-19th century to the 1980s
• Fascist-era classroom and room of the “scuole dimenticate” (forgotten schools)
• Desks, satchels, snack boxes and pupils’ objects
• Archives of teachers and educationists, books and magazines for children
• Workshops for families, such as writing with a nib

Permanent exhibition

• Percorso storico sulla scuola italiana – Chronological rooms from the 19th century to the 1980s, with a timeline, satchels, desks, the Fascist-era classroom and the forgotten schools.

Operated by

Università di Macerata – Dipartimento di Scienze della formazione, dei beni culturali e del turismo

Visitors per year

approx. 5,363

Admission & discounts

Ticket for the self-guided visit: €4 per person. Free admission also for tourist guides and interpreters of groups, accredited journalists, ICOM and ICCROM members, teachers of state and non-state schools, and group escorts with prior booking (the free admission does not apply to “Le merende dei nonni”). Payment on site.

Accessibility

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

Access by ramp from Viale Don Bosco and by lift accessible from the ground floor (Via Carducci entrance) or from the underground car park. Free wheelchair on request, wide corridors, seating along the route, accessible toilets, texts in Easy-to-Read format and dyslexia-friendly fonts; a social story and a visual-sensory map are available for download. Guide dogs and service animals are admitted with the required documentation.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Interactive workshops and guided tours for families and children; free admission under 3.

Getting there & parking

From the A14, take the Civitanova Marche–Macerata exit, then the SS77. Coaches are advised to park near the FS railway station (about 500 m on foot). The museum is on the first floor of the Centro Direzionale (INAIL office).

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit