Photo: Cymothoa exigua · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Museo di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria

Genoa's oldest museum, with millions of zoological, palaeontological and mineralogical specimens; currently closed for maintenance.

Temporarily closedAdmission €9 Wheelchair accessible

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Temporarily closed. Since 8 April 2025 the museum has been closed for maintenance of the structure and protection of the collections; no reopening date has been given. Educational activities and lectures continue, and scholars can consult the collections and the library by appointment.

About the museum

The Museo di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria was founded in 1867 and is the oldest museum in the city. Its scientific collections number about four and a half million specimens and objects from all over the world: animals, fossils, plants and minerals.

The permanent exhibition presents about six thousand specimens in 23 rooms across two floors. On the ground floor ten rooms show all the orders of mammals, while two large central halls are devoted to palaeontology and temporary exhibitions. On the first floor six rooms illustrate the other vertebrates (birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish), two rooms the insects and other invertebrates, and one room houses the three-dimensional reconstruction of a cell magnified one hundred thousand times. The last section is devoted to minerals.

The route is designed as a journey through the biodiversity of the planet and is aimed in particular at children, young people and families. Since 8 April 2025 the historic seat has been closed for maintenance of the structure and protection of the collections; during the closure, educational activities and lectures continue, and scholars and researchers can consult the collections and the specialised library by appointment.

Highlights

Common fin whale and the cetacean hall
Great white shark and monk seal
Ancient Italic elephant and palaeontological finds
Bornean orangutan and collections of 19th-century explorers
Reconstruction of a cell magnified 100,000 times

Founded: 1867
Operated by: Comune di Genova
Director: Carlo Alonza

Admission & discounts

Adults	€9
Reduced	€6
Children & teens	freefree up to age 17 · Free admission up to the age of 18.
Reduced ticket for young people aged 18 to 26	€2

Prices in force before the closure: full price €9, reduced €6, young people aged 18 to 26: €2; online purchase carries an advance sales fee of €1. Free for under-18s, people with disabilities and a companion, journalists, tour guides, ICOM members and other categories set out by the Musei di Genova. Genova Museum Card: 24 hours €24, 48 hours €45.

Accessibility

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

All rooms are free of architectural barriers: a ramp from the Via Macaggi entrance leads directly to the rooms, and the route is on the ground floor and the first floor, served by a lift. A wheelchair is available on request from the staff. In the cetacean hall there are 6 tactile QR codes and in the atrium a tactile map of the ground floor; an accessible app for people with sensory disabilities exists. Accessible toilets on each floor. The museum has a service car park at Via Macaggi 92c rosso, usable with a disabled parking permit after a phone notice.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

Kids’ admission	free up to age 17

Family tours & workshops

The museum is described as particularly suited to children, young people and families; educational activities continue during the closure.

Getting there & parking

By public transit

Macaggi / Cesarea

Metro: De Ferrari stop, about 5 minutes on foot. Bus: lines 15, 31, 42, 617, 641 and SM (nearby stops: Diaz 2/Piazza della Vittoria, Macaggi/Cesarea, Cadorna/Piazza della Vittoria). Funicular: XX Settembre stop (9 minutes on foot). Train: Genova Brignole station (21 minutes on foot).

By car

Parking available · 200 m to the entrance

Museum service car park at Via Macaggi 92c rosso (for visitors with disabled parking permits, after a phone notice); 200 metres away is the Park Vittoria with 1,100 spaces.