Museo Galileo

About the museum

The museum is housed in Palazzo Castellani, a medieval building on the Lungarno near the Uffizi. Founded as the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, it was renamed Museo Galileo and is dedicated to the history of science, with particular attention to the Scientific Revolution and to the work of Galileo Galilei.

The collections derive largely from the scientific collections of the Medici and the Lorraine, and include instruments, apparatus and models that document the development of science from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. The exhibition route runs over several floors and illustrates the evolution of knowledge in fields such as astronomy, physics, mathematics and medicine.

The museum offers tactile maps, three-dimensional models of instruments, videos in sign language and a free app with audio content. It is part of the Firenze Card circuit.

Highlights

• Scientific instruments that belonged to Galileo
• Scientific collections of the Medici and the Lorraine
• Tactile route with 3D models of instruments
• Videos in LIS and tactile maps
• Palazzo Castellani on the Lungarno

Permanent exhibition

• Percorso espositivo delle collezioni – Scientific instruments and apparatus of the Medici and the Lorraine, from medieval science to the 19th century.

Founded

1930

Visitors per year

approx. 168,041

Admission & discounts

Free admission also for teachers accompanying groups, tourist guides, journalists, and members of ICOM and ANMS. The museum is part of the Firenze Card circuit. Individual tickets can be bought online.

Accessibility

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

The entrance for visitors with disabilities is at Lungarno Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici 2 (call an operator on the intercom). Two lifts and two stairlifts serve the floors; a manual wheelchair is available. The lifts have audible floor announcements and an induction loop. Tactile maps, a tactile reproduction of the palace and 3D models; guided tactile visits at €3 by booking. Orientation videos and videos of the instruments translated into LIS.

Kids & families

The museum does not list dedicated services for families, but it offers a family ticket and children’s books are available in the bookshop.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Free Wi-Fi inside the museum. Bookshop on the ground floor, at the end of the route; free keyed lockers at the entrance.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit