1–2 hours
Skip the line
Mobile ticket

Highlights

If you are in Florence don't miss the new Galileo Museum, formerly Institute and Museum for the History of Science, dedicated to science and the famous Pisan scientist Galileo Galilei. See extraordinary pieces such as Galileo’s telescope, historic world maps and globes, and a series of surprising amusements such as machines that create optical illusions.

Inclusions

What's included

Guaranteed to skip the long lines

What's not

Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Transportation to/from attractions

Itinerary

The Institute and Museum for the History of Science is heir to a tradition of five centuries of scientific collecting, which has its origins in the central importance assigned by the Medici and Lorraine families to scientists and scientific instruments. The Medicean collection of scientific instruments was begun by Cosimo I (1519-1574), who housed it in the “Wardrobe” of the Palazzo Vecchio, known today as the "sala delle carte geografiche" (Map Room). With the foundation of the Accademia del Cimento (1657), inaugurated by Ferdinand II (1610-1670) and Leopold de\' Medici (1617-1675) for the purpose of conducting the experimental investigation of nature, the collection was enriched with new instruments designed mainly for thermometric, barometric, and pneumatic research. The Accademia was located in the Pitti Palace where all the instruments in the Medici collection were subsequently moved. After their decline during the Napoleonic occupation (1799-1814), the museum and its workshops were reorganized upon the return to power of the Lorraine Family. After the Unification of Italy, the collections were dispersed among several university departments. In 1922, thanks to the promoters of the "Group for the Preservation of National Scientific Heritage," the collections were rescued from abandonment. In 1927, thanks to their commitment, the Istituto di Storia delle Scienze (The Institute of the History of Science) was founded, with the goal of "collecting, cataloging, and restoring" the scientific collections. In 1929, the newborn Institute organized the First National Exhibition of the History of Science in Florence. In 1930, following the show, the University of Florence opened the permanent exhibition of the Istituto di Storia della Scienza at Palazzo Castellani to the public. It included the Medici-Lorraine collection of instruments. After the damage caused by the bombings that destroyed the bridges of the Lungarno at the end of the Second World War (1944-45), another hard blow was dealt to the collection by the flood of 1966. The instruments that were stored in the basement and ground floor of the Museo were seriously damaged. Thanks to international solidarity and the efforts of Maria Luisa Righini Bonelli, then-director of the Museum, it was possible to quickly carry out recovery of the instruments, reopen the exhibition rooms to the public, and focus again on library collecting and research activities.
Admission included

Cancellation

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Reviews

3.2

Ratings come from 75 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

Pickup: Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
Ticket type: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group size: Up to 15 travellers
Operated by: Weekend in Italy

Wheelchair accessible
Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Important note: you will be assigned an exact entrance time which will be the one you have to respect in order to make the visit. The time can be any time during the opening time and will be indicated on the voucher issued by the provider, within one business day from your booking request
School/class bookings need to be made directly with the museum
Access for visitors with disabilities: Visitors with reduced mobility can use the entrance in Lungarno Anna Maria de’ Medici, where they can call for assistance if required. The museum is entirely barrier-free.
PLEASE NOTICE: Confirmed time is not always the same time you requested; museum automatically confirms the closest available time (any time) on the same date if requested time is sold out.

How it compares in Florence

Its from-price is 46% below the median of the 169 attraction tickets we list in Florence.
Its length is typical for the group.
By number of reviews it ranks 35 of 169.

About Florence

Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance, gathers masterpieces of art and architecture into a compact city of stone streets beside the Arno.

The Duomo, with Brunelleschi's great red-brick dome, Giotto's bell tower and the Baptistery's gilded doors, marks the centre of town. A few streets away, Piazza della Signoria and the Palazzo Vecchio face a loggia full of sculpture, and the Uffizi Gallery holds Botticelli, Leonardo and Raphael. Michelangelo's David stands in the Galleria dell'Accademia.

Top-ranked sights in Florence: Piazza della Signoria, Uffizi Galleries (Gallerie degli Uffizi), Florence Duomo (Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore).

See all 3255 experiences in Florence