MUSA — Museo di Anatomia Umana
Napoli (NA)
Hidden gemMuseums
The story
Skeletons, foetuses in formalin, bodies petrified with Giuseppe Aloe's nineteenth-century method. One of the most striking anatomical collections in Europe, inside a former monastery, and almost nobody knows it.
Access
€ 6. Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri 10:00-14:00, Wed 10:00-16:00. Closed Sat and Sun. Online booking required
The story
The Museum of Human Anatomy of Naples, of the University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', in via Armanni, is one of the oldest and most important anatomical museums in the world. Heir to the great Neapolitan medical school, it holds thousands of preparations that document two centuries of study of the human body for scientific and educational purposes.
What to see
A vast collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century anatomical preparations — organs, systems, models and specimens, some pathological — set up for the purpose of study in the historic university seat. It is a place of the history of medicine and science, to be visited with respect and not as a curiosity: behind each specimen there is the work of science and the dignity of the person.
Tips
The museum is part of the museum system of the University Vanvitelli (MUSA): the visit is by online booking, with a ticket (around 6 euros) and its own hours. Check on the official site of the museum system before going. It is a route of a scientific nature, not to be approached in a morbid spirit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Museum of Human Anatomy of Naples?
One of the oldest and most important anatomical museums in the world, of the University Vanvitelli, which holds for scientific and educational purposes thousands of anatomical preparations, a testimony of the Neapolitan medical school.
How do you visit the Museum of Anatomy?
It is part of the museum system of the University Vanvitelli (MUSA): it is visited by online booking, with a ticket and its own hours, to be checked on the official site.
Where is the Museum of Human Anatomy?
In via Armanni, in the university complex of Santa Patrizia, in the centre of Naples.
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