Museo di Storia Naturale – La Specola

About the museum

On 21 February 1775 Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Lorraine established the Imperial and Royal Museum of Physics and Natural History, the first natural history museum open to the public and the first to present nature in its entirety, from mineralogy to astronomy, through anthropology, botany and zoology. The idea of gathering in one place the “natural productions” kept at the Uffizi dates back to 1763. In 1771 the Palazzo Torrigiani in Via Romana was purchased; it was restructured over four years by the architect Gasparo Maria Paoletti and called the “Palazzo della Scienza” (Palace of Science). In 1771 the Officina di Ceroplastica (wax modelling workshop) was also set up, and for about a century it produced the famous anatomical wax models.

At the end of the 18th century the Napoleonic events and the founding of the Liceo di Scienze Fisiche e Naturali in 1807 transformed the museum from a unified place of knowledge into support for the individual chairs; in the 20th century the collections were dispersed among different sites. Today the Museo di Storia Naturale of the University of Florence, part of the Sistema Museale di Ateneo, holds more than eight million specimens, four million of them in La Specola alone.

The historic route presents zoological specimens from all over the world in 23 rooms. The collection of anatomical waxes numbers about 1,400 works in 562 cases and is still displayed with an 18th-century layout. The Salone degli Scheletri (Hall of Skeletons) houses about 3,000 osteological finds, while the Tribuna di Galileo, inaugurated in 1841, is a secular temple dedicated to the scientist. The new mineralogy sections return to their original seat, after more than a century, the minerals of the Medici collections and those of Niels Stensen.

Highlights

• Collection of about 1,400 anatomical wax models
• Zoology in 23 rooms with specimens from all over the world
• Salone degli Scheletri with about 3,000 osteological finds
• Tribuna di Galileo, neoclassical temple of 1841
• Mineralogy rooms with Medici hard stones and minerals from Elba
• Torrino astronomico with guided visit

Permanent exhibitions

• Percorso espositivo storico: Zoologia – Twenty-three rooms with zoological specimens from all over the world, in a display that continues the tradition of the museum's 18th-century project.
• Cere anatomiche – About 1,400 anatomical wax models in 562 cases, made by the museum's wax modelling workshop between the 18th and 19th centuries; visit only with a guide.
• Mineralogia – Six rooms with meteorites, Italian and Elban minerals, Medici hard stones and the collection of Niels Stensen.

Founded

1775

Operated by

Università degli Studi di Firenze – Sistema Museale di Ateneo

Visitors per year

approx. 28,768

Admission & discounts

Prices valid from 1 September 2026. Tickets on Vivaticket (online purchase recommended) or at the ticket office, subject to availability. Free admission also for employees of the University of Florence, members of ICOM and ANMS, licensed tour guides and registered journalists, holders of an Edumuseicard, and up to three accompanying teachers of school groups.

Accessibility

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

The museum has a lift accessible to wheelchair users and accessible toilets on the ground and first floors. The anatomical waxes are not accessible by wheelchair, and the astronomical tower with the Tribuna di Galileo is only partly accessible; the Salone degli Scheletri can be visited only on a private guided tour booked in advance. Guide dogs are admitted. The museum is designed to avoid sudden lights and noises, including for people on the autism spectrum.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Activities for families with children aged 6–11 on one Saturday a month at 15:00 (for example “Animali in gioco”, “Scopriamo i minerali”, “Caccia agli scheletri”), lasting 1.5 hours, €6 per child in addition to the ticket; seasonal camps for children are also held.

Getting there & parking

On foot about 20 minutes from the Duomo and Santa Maria Novella station, and about 8 minutes from Piazzale di Porta Romana; by bicycle about 6 minutes from the station. People with disabilities who do not live in Florence can register for access to the ZTL.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Lockers

Lockers with key and a sales point; drinking water dispensers.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit