Florence, the secret capital of science: here's the museum that preserves centuries of genius and wonders.

From Galileo's telescopes to digital technologies: an uninterrupted history of inventions, research, and conservation

Galileo Museum August 8, 2025, 10:00 AM

Hidden along the banks of the Arno, amidst narrow streets, medieval buildings, and Renaissance symbols, lies a different Florence than the one we all know.

In this new guise, the city becomes a centuries-old spokesperson for the ingenuity of its scientists, artisans, and scholars, from which the foundations of modern scientific culture were born, in a progression of experiments, errors, and brilliant intuitions that have literally changed our vision of the world.

This innovative vocation of the city expresses its apex in the rooms of an ancient building, the historic Palazzo Castellani.

Galileo Museum: Centuries of Science and Technology That Changed the World

Right in Palazzo Castellani, overlooking the Arno and close to the Uffizi, you can visit the Galileo Museum , known before 2010 as the Institute and Museum of the History of Science , a place that preserves one of the richest collections of scientific instruments in Europe.

The museum houses over 5,000 original artefacts , dating from the 11th to the 19th century, with around 1,000 examples on permanent display, mostly from the Medici and Lorraine collections.

Among these masterpieces, Galileo's instruments stand out, including the only two original telescopes in existence, with which Jupiter's satellites and the lunar surface were observed for the first time, the objective lens, the geometric and military compass, the Jovilabe and other fundamental instruments that forever changed the history of astronomy and science in general.

In the space in front of the Museum, since 2007, it has been possible to admire a modern monumental sundial , the starting point of an immersive journey through unique masterpieces and testimonies of those who, through science, have transformed knowledge into cultural and social progress.

Throughout the exhibition, screens and QR codes accompany the visit , offering multimedia insights and personalized digital content that enrich the experience and make each discovery even more engaging for the visitor. Furthermore, the Galileo Museum offers two multilingual apps for iOS and Android, which can be installed free of charge and accessed freely via the facility's internal WiFi network. The Galileo Museum App is a valuable aid to your visit or to help you prepare for it, while Florence – Science Paths is a geo-referenced guide that explores the iconic sites of Florence's scientific knowledge.

The Educational Section offers a wide range of educational programs for schools and families, including special guided tours and workshops.

An ever-active laboratory: research and innovation spanning the centuries

The Galileo Museum, however, is not just a museum, but a living and constantly evolving institution, with activities that encompass research, dissemination, and scientific conservation.

Its Digital Library today represents one of the largest thematic collections in the world with 38,000 digitized documents including manuscripts, rare works, historical photographs, videos and iconographic collections that are often difficult to find.

It is a fundamental resource for scholars, schools, and institutions, as well as enthusiasts and the curious, allowing the dissemination of scientific knowledge, generating new connections between past and future.

Alongside it, the Research Library offers a specialized collection of books on the history of science, accessible to scholars and researchers, and constitutes an international reference center for historical and scientific research.

When digital becomes a bridge to the future

In addition to preserving unique masterpieces, the Galileo Museum stands out for its digital innovation , offering cutting-edge resources and tools that make knowledge accessible from anywhere, at any time.

Here are the main active digital services :

Website: provides a wealth of resources in Italian and English. In addition to information for visits, it provides access to resources for historical and scientific research , projects, collections, and services for visitors and researchers.
Virtual Museum: a digital environment that allows for a complete and detailed exploration of the exhibition, thanks to interactive content, virtual tours, and additional descriptive sheets.
Cumulative Database: allows for integrated consultation of the Museo Galileo's collections, bibliographies, and databases produced as part of various study and research projects. It contains over 380,000 records, including printed works, manuscripts, photographs, and videos.
Archives: the editorial series published on the site and dedicated to promoting a wide variety of materials relating to some of the most important figures in the history of Italian science.

These digital solutions transform the visit and study of the museum into a rich and engaging experience , extending well beyond the physical walls and always projected towards the future.

Conservation, valorization and inclusion

Since 1925, the year of its foundation as the Institute of the History of Science under the guidance of Andrea Corsini, the Museum has stood out for its pioneering approach to the preservation and renewal of collective scientific memory.

Temporary exhibitions of international importance, international conferences , and educational projects for schools and families make the Galileo Museum one of the world's leading institutions dedicated to the history of science.

Added to these activities is a strong desire for inclusion , which over time has generated numerous collaborations, including those with the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired, with the Sollicciano Prison, and with the primary school of the Meyer Children's Hospital.

Science told, preserved, reinvented

The Museum's many rooms, spread across two floors, represent a true crossroads of history, creativity, and research.

For those who, even today, find the wonder of discovery in science, a visit to the Galileo Museum offers the opportunity to touch the original traces of great scientists and enjoy an experience that transcends the centuries.

Because at the Galileo Museum, innovation never ceases to amaze and continues to shape the future.