KEEPING IT WEIRD SINCE 1775

Tucked away in the Oltrarno neighbourhood, on the south bank of the River Arno, lies one of Florence’s most ancient, fascinating and bizarre collections. The Museum of Zoology and Natural History, best-known as La Specola, is the oldest scientific museum in Europe. With its odd mirabilia, stuffed animals, skeletons and anatomical wax models, it is sure to intrigue and capture the interest of young visitors.

The museum first opened to the public in 1775 at the wishes of Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo, however the origins of this wunderkammern are much older and date back to the Medici era. Passionate collectors of just about everything, over the centuries the Medici family accumulated not only artistic treasures but also an impressive wealth of natural wonders such as seashells, precious stones, exotic plants and animals. The word specola, meaning observatory, is a reference to the astronomical observatory installed here by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo in 1790.

A section of the museum is dedicated to taxidermy and comprises 5,000 animals, from invertebrates to advanced mammals – some of which are extinct or endangered. As you wander through the rooms of this remarkable zoological collection, you will come across molluscs, insects, butterflies, worms, turtles, snakes, fish, kangaroos, felines and monkeys. A mummified crocodile from ancient Egypt and a stuffed hippopotamus, which used to saunter around the Boboli Gardens in the 18th century, will be huge hits with the children.

The creepiest highlight of the museum is the stomach-churning collection of 18th century anatomical wax models, the largest of its kind. These models, numbering well over a thousand in all, were once used to teach medicine and were conceived as a visual support for a didactic-scientific manual. Copied from genuine human corpses with the greatest precision and attention to detail, these pieces are evidence of Florence’s early commitment to this field of scientific research. Internal organs, nerves, arteries and brains are rendered with shocking realism… not for the faint-hearted!