The one which is commonly defined “ Museo della Specola”, current section of zoology of the Museum of Natural History, is the oldest scientific museum in Europe.

Founded in 1775,by the grand-duke of Tuscany Pietro Leopoldo in the rooms of Palazzo Torrigiani, the direction was entrusted to Felice Fontana. The idea was to give a rational and organic arrangement to the Medici scientific collections already mounted at Galleria of Uffizi. In the halls there were displayed also new- concept instruments and anatomical waxes created in the museum workshops. Up to now, it is in the original seat at Imperial and Real Museum of Physics and Natural History of Florence. The institution emerged also as a modern research centre: it had a botanic garden, an astronomical observatory a library and, since 1807 a Lyceum for the teaching of sciences in addition to experimental laboratories specialized, for instance, in the wax working; in one of these, Clemente Susini, helped by very able artisans, made more than 600 anatomic models, up to now exposed in the halls of the Museum.

The Lyceum hosted six scientific teachings: astronomy, physics, chemistry, comparative anatomy, mineralogy and zoology, botanic. After the end of the grand duchy of Tuscany, the scientific experience of lyceum was reclaimed by the section of Natural Sciences of the Institute for Superior Studies of Florence. In 1841, according to the will of grand-duchy Leopoldo II Lorena, following a project of the architect Giuseppe Martelli, in the palace was inaugurated, on the occasion of the third Congress of Italian Scientists, a tribune dedicated to Galileo Galilei.

The frescos decorating the tribune are painted, among the others, by Giuseppe Bezzuoli, Gaspero Martellini, Nicola Cianfanelli e Luigi Sabatelli; the statue of Galileo, still in the hemicycle, is made by Aristodemo Costoli. Since 1878 the collections were distributed among the various sections of the new Insitute for Superior Studies: at the Specola remained the anatomical waxes, the zoological collections and the scientific instruments; those last were successively given to the Institute and Museum of History of Science. The current section of Zoology of the Museum of Natural History of the University of Florence is known with the name “La Specola”, from the same Latin word, indicating the astronomical observatory that had seat in the tallest part of it.

The rich and spectacular museum show is organized in 33 rooms (22 for zoology, 10 for the waxes, 1 for temporary shows) at the second floor of the building, while at the ground floor there is the Hall of Skeletons, with original theca of the XIX century. The collection of anatomic waxes includes works made between the end of ‘700 and the beginning of ‘800 on anatomy, besides plaster casts and drawings. The collection of Vertebrates includes items of XVIII, XIX, and XX centuries of the 5 classes of vertebrates: preparations in alcohol, naturalized, in skin and skeletons.

The collection of Invertebrates of XIX and XX centuries displays items both dry and in alcohol. The library preserves valuable ancient volumes and modern works. The archive of the section includes the Giglioli archive (mainly epistolary), the general archive of the Museum, since the end of ‘800 and part of the archive of the Italian Entomological Society. And now, in addition to all this, the Giazotto collection, one of the most beautiful collection of minerals in the world, to whom the museum has reserved a suitable space at the first floor.