Museo di Storia della Medicina, Specialised history of medicine museum in Rome, Italy
The Museo di Storia della Medicina is a specialised museum at Sapienza University in Rome, housing a collection of medical tools, instruments, and objects spanning many centuries. The displays are spread across three floors and cover periods from ancient civilisations through to 20th-century medicine.
The museum was founded in 1938 by Adalberto Pazzini and opened to the public in 1954. From the start, it was built around a strong research purpose, with Pazzini assembling objects from many sources including private collections.
The museum belongs to Sapienza University and draws students and researchers alongside general visitors. The rooms feel like study spaces rather than showrooms, with objects arranged to encourage close observation.
The museum occupies the Istituto di Storia della Medicina at Viale dell'Università 34/a, on the Sapienza campus; the entrance is the wooden double door beneath the white stone surround inscribed "ISTITUTO DI STORIA DELLA MEDICINA". The visit runs over three floors, with the ground floor holding the library and reading room, the first and second floors the chronological displays, and the basement a reconstruction of a medieval square, an alchemical laboratory and an 18th-century pharmacy. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 9 am to 1 pm.
Part of the collection came from the estate of Evan Gorga, a famous opera singer who was also a passionate collector of antiques and curiosities. This means some objects arrived in a medical museum by way of an artist's personal obsession rather than a scientific bequest.
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