University Museums
The University of Padua boasts a rich science, art, and cultural heritage, preserved across eleven museums and nineteen collections, along with numerous architectural works. These museums and collections testify to advancements in teaching and research across various academic disciplines and are closely integrated within their respective departments.
The University Center for Museums coordinates and oversees their activities. The museums and collections welcome the public to explore a variety of programs and initiatives created for the community members and students of all ages.
Discover more about the museums by visiting their websites!
Poleni Museum - History of Physics
Can the sky be contained in a sphere? Can the aurora borealis be reproduced in a laboratory?
And when were X-rays first discovered? You can find answers to these and many more by visiting the Giovanni Poleni Museum of the History of Physics.
Physics is much more than abstract and complicated formulas; it offers valuable support in everyday life and intersects with art, psychology, architecture, and music.
Don’t believe it? Join us on a fascinating journey through time to discover the instruments and inventions that have enriched humanity's life from the Renaissance to the present day. You will explore what ionization chambers, scintillators, Geiger counters, and many other mysterious devices are and what they are used for.
Museum of Astronomical Instruments
How did researchers study the universe over the last century? What tools did 20th-century astronomers use to observe stars, planets, and galaxies? What were the most important discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics during that period?
Situated in the picturesque setting of the Asiago Plateau, the Museum of Astronomical Instruments showcases the extraordinary history of astronomy through a unique collection of tools used from the 1940s to the 1980s.
Here, science, history, and technology intertwine to highlight the significant role of the University of Padua in the global astrophysical landscape. We invite you to explore the rich exhibition halls, the historic dome of the Galileo telescope, the archives, and the photographic plates of the Museum, all of which carry immense historical value, while discovering the instruments that played a crucial role in transforming our understanding of the universe.
Museum of Nature and Humankind
What would we observe if we virtually travelled to the Earth's centre and then returned to the surface, passing through the various layers composing our beautiful planet? Who was the little Indian elephant hiding from in the church of Sant'Antonin in Venice in 1819? What is one of the oldest cold cases still unresolved?
Discover the answers to these and other questions by visiting the Museum of Nature and Humankind / Museo della Natura e dell'Uomo, which offers multiple worlds to explore.
From the solar system to the centre of the Earth, and from the first traces of life on Earth to the emergence of Homo sapiens, experience the phosphorescence of certain minerals alongside the incredible biodiversity of both the animal kingdom and the human species. You can admire all this and much more by exploring the museum's six thematic areas! Throughout your journey, interactive and multimedia installations will enable you to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the exhibits.
Botanical Museum
What types of flora populated our territories in past centuries? Which plants were known, and what purpose were they used for? How was botany studied, and what educational tools were used?
To learn more, visit the Botanical Museum!
Its ancient herbarium, established in the first half of the 19th century, houses dried specimens dating back to the late 18th century: approximately 600,000 samples of dried plants, algae, fungi, lichens, and galls. This precious heritage testifies to the enormous biodiversity in the area, both nationally and internationally, in a not-so-distant past, and represents an important source of information for potential and desirable environmental restoration.
What are you waiting for? Visit the Botanical Museum!
Olivi Museum
How do sardines protect themselves from their predators? Is it true that all fish are mute? How large is the elephant shark, and why is it called that? Where does it live, and why is it considered a protected species? How has the way of "going to sea" changed in the last 150 years?
Visit the Olivi Museum and dive into the marine environment to discover the fascinating creatures that inhabit it! You can admire fish, sharks, rays, echinoderms, molluscs, crustaceans, shells, and numerous species that populate the Adriatic Sea.
Listen to the fishermen from Chioggia share their experiences and heritage in the immersive room. The captivating marine animals displayed in the halls will enhance your understanding of the marine environment's extraordinary biodiversity and the importance of preserving it.
Museum of Veterinary Medicine
Are all dolphins the same? What are the differences between cartilaginous fish and bony fish? Can you learn what an animal eats by observing its teeth? How is an animal's body preserved?
Explore the answers to these and many other questions by visiting the Veterinary Medicine Museum!
While it is one of the newest museums at the University of Padua, its collections are of great value. The collection of skeletal remains, along with the displays and preparations of both domestic and wild animals -normal and pathological- will provide you with a unique insight into the world of vertebrates, covering their sizes and structures, and various environmentaladaptations.
As a fundamental educational resource for students at the Agripolis campus, it is becoming an increasingly important reference point for schools, researchers, enthusiasts, and the curious alike.
Morgagni Museum of Anatomy
How was anatomy studied in the nineteenth century? How were anatomical specimens preserved during that time? Who was Lodovico Brunetti, and what made him renowned in anatomy?
Discover these and other curiosities at the G. B. Morgagni Museum of Human Anatomy! As a significant testament to the medical and scientific progress of the nineteenth century, it houses a rich historical collection of anatomical and pathological preparations, composed of over 1,500 specimens divided into two sections: Pathological Anatomy, which was renovated and opened to the public in 2018, and Normal Anatomy, currently under study for future opening.
Allow yourself to be intrigued by the complexity of the human body: here, you can explore its wonders in a rigorous yet accessible way for those outside the field.
Museum of Archaeological Sciences and Art
Ancient collections in a modern setting. The Museum of Archaeological Sciences, located within the evocative framework designed by architect Gio Ponti in the 1930s, evokes a classic atmosphere that blends the sacred with domestic intimacy, serving as a space for dialogue place in dialogue between the past and the present.
Visit the museum's plaster cast gallery, which was utilized in the last century to educate people about the history of classical art. This architectural gem designed by Gio Ponti represents a rationalist reinterpretation of a Roman house's atrium, showcasing a semicircular space.
By exploring the rich sixteenth-century collection of Marco Mantova Benavides, you can admire ancient and classical portraits alongside casts and models from contemporary Padovan humanist artists.
The archaeological halls of the Museum, showcasing exquisite statues, artifacts, musical instruments, and everyday objects, will transport you back in time, allowing you to immerse in the lives of the ancient inhabitants of the Mediterranean. This journey spans from the Egypt of the pharaohs to Greek civilization, including the Italic peoples, the Romans, and Padua two thousand years ago.
Geography Museum
How did early atlases depict the Earth, and how has this depiction evolved over the centuries? What significant revolutions in geographic thought have transpired from the 19th century to today? What contribution can geographic research offer to tackle current issues, such as the effects of climate change?
Explore, measure, and share. Visit the Geography Museum and embark on a fascinating journey through time in three stages, spanning centuries of research and education, with the help of ancient and modern tools such as maps, atlases, globes, and photographs. Uncover three exhibition halls and seven collections that teach you to observe the world with curiosity and inhabit it more consciously.
Museum of Education
A miniature roller coaster, a large puppet theatre for marionette shows, and a colour-mixing device. An ancient wooden high chair also converts into a small table with a little abacus, dolls, painted rocking horses, model airplanes and trains, and other toys.
Explore the Museum of Education rooms and embark on a fascinating journey from the 19th century to the present, from birth to adulthood. You can return to the school desks by entering a classroom, as it has remained unchanged since 1861, where you will find books, notebooks, ink, pens, registers, report cards, diplomas, photographs, and much more.
Cultural and Artistic Heritage
The cultural and artistic heritage of the University is composed (includes) not only of the numerous monumental buildings- ranging from Palazzo Bo to Palazzo Cavalli and the Botanical Garden, which UNESCO has listed as a World Heritage Site but also significant 20th-century projects, such as the works of Gio Ponti, and contemporary constructions, including the Biodiversity Garden and the renovation of the Beato Pellegrino Complex.
To explore and appreciate the university's artistic and cultural heritage, please visit the website https://heritage.unipd.it/
Curator: Chiara Marin
tel. +39 3312339521
e-mail: chiara.marin@unipd.it
