La Specola
The Medici zoological collection: room after room of animals from around the world, including a hippopotamus that once lived in the Boboli gardens.
- Area
- Oltrarno
- Address
- Via Romana 17
- Founded
- Eighteenth century, one of the oldest science museums in Europe
- Time
- About an hour
- Checked
- August 2026
- Price
- €€
- Go for
- The Medici animal collection, including a hippopotamus that lived in the Boboli gardens and was stuffed by people who had never seen one alive.
- Skip if
- Taxidermy is not for you, or you are bringing a child who will be upset by rooms of preserved animals.
What everybody agrees on
Read across public reviews on Google and TripAdvisor in September 2026, plus Italian museum writing.
- Most
The hippopotamus is the object people describe. It lived in the Boboli gardens and the reconstruction shows that nobody involved had seen a living one.
- Most
The rooms are arranged as an eighteenth century collection rather than a modern museum, which is half the interest.
- Often
The wax anatomy models at the end are extraordinary and not for everyone. They are signposted and skippable.
- Some
Some visitors find the taxidermy sad rather than fascinating. This is a fair reaction and worth knowing before you buy a ticket.
What to order
Ask at the desk where the wax collection begins, so you know where to stop if you would rather not see it.
Before you go
- Getting there
- Via Romana, ten minutes from Ponte Vecchio up Via Guicciardini.
- Time needed
- An hour.
- With children
- Five and up, with the caveat above.
The zoological wing of the university’s natural history museum, and one of the oldest science museums in Europe open to the public. The hippopotamus was a gift to the Grand Duke, lived in Boboli, and was reassembled after its death by craftsmen who had only read a description of one.
The eighteenth century wax anatomy collection sits at the far end. Signposted, and easy to walk past if it is not for you.
Ten minutes on foot from Ponte Vecchio, up Via Guicciardini and left along Via Romana.