Museum
"La Specola"
The historical exhibition itinerary
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Zoology
Twenty-three rooms display zoological specimens from around the world in an exhibition layout that has carried on the tradition of the Museum's original plan to manifest the System of Nature for the past two and a half centuries.
The specimens on display are only a small part of the more than four million specimens held in the collections and document, among others, several species that are now extinct and others that are on the verge of extinction, as well as many specimens of considerable scientific and historical interest.
The displayed exhibits are the tip of the iceberg of La Specola's rich collections. The repositories hold more than four million specimens that are being studied by researchers around the world and provide important information about the natural history and evolution of organisms and the Planet.
Anatomical Waxes
The Specola houses a unique collection of internationally renowned wax anatomical models, produced over nearly a century by the Ceroplastic Workshop established at the Museum in 1771. Major contributors to its creation included Clemente Susini, Francesco Calenzuoli, Luigi Calamai, and Egisto Tortori. The works, some 1,400 in 562 urns, are offered in a museographic layout that has come almost unchanged since the 18th century. Hanging on the walls, corresponding to the relevant models, are more than 800 drawings (non-original copies) made in mixed media by expert draughtsmen that served, together with the explanation sheets once collected inside the drawers of the showcases, to allow in-depth study by the visitor who independently wished to acquire more information. The tour runs through eight rooms, one of comparative anatomy and seven of human anatomy, each dedicated to representing specific themes. For security reasons, most of the halls have restricted entry and can be enjoyed by guided tour by reservation.
'Tribuna di Galileo'
A secular temple dedicated to the memory of Galileo Galilei to celebrate the Tuscan genius and the experimental method, it is a rare example of late neoclassical Florentine architecture, built to a design by Giuseppe Martelli and inaugurated in 1841. Leading Tuscan artists of the time worked on it, based on the iconographic plan conceived by Vincenzo Antinori. The statue of Galileo was sculpted by Aristodemo Costoli, while the frescoes are the work of Giuseppe Bezzuoli, Gaspero Martellini, Nicola Cianfanelli, and Luigi Sabatelli.
Skeletons Hall
Located on the ground floor, it features an early 19th-century exhibition layout made of wood paneling with a gallery and 120 display cases housing skeletons of numerous species of Vertebrates, especially Mammals. The approximately 3,000 osteological artifacts on display constitute a great scientific treasure trove consulted each year by experts worldwide. They include genuine rarities and specimens of special historical interest. Among them is the Asiatic Elephant, which came alive to Florence in 1655 and was exhibited under the Loggia dei Lanzi. It served in the 18th century to Linnaeus to describe the species.
Torrino
Designed by Niccolò Maria Gaspero Paoletti at the end of the 18th century, it now houses an exhibition that takes us back to the origins of the Museum and reproduces the unity of scientific knowledge behind the original idea. It has its centerpiece in the Sundial Room, or Stork Room, full of neoclassical stuccoes depicting birds in the act of taking flight. On the floor is the marble, copper, silver, and scagliola sundial made in 1784 and still working. From the eight windows of the upper octagonal hall, one can enjoy an astonishing 360-degree view of Florence.