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We've compiled the best of the best in Italy - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Extending over six floors, in a 41,000-foot space, this interactive science museum, designed by Renzo Piano, encourages families of all ages to explore science and nature. As befits the region, mountain imagery plays a big part in the displays and is used to investigate the Dolomites’ history and even life on Earth. There’s also a sensory experience room for younger kids up to five years old.
Across the river from Galileo's former home, a monumental sundial, installed in 2007, sits outside the Palazzo Castellani, one of the city's oldest palaces and now home to this museum dedicated to Renaissance scientists and inventors. The permanent collection features both objects and videos that enlighten you on innovations from the 14th to 17th centuries. Particularly intriguing is Antonio Santucci's armillary sphere, created in 1588 for Ferdinand I de' Medici, and an engraved geometric and military compass built by Galileo in 1606. A research library with more than 170,000 scientific books, from ancient to modern, is also open to the public.
This converted cloister is best known for the collection of models based on Leonardo da Vinci's sketches. One of the most visited rooms features interactive, moving models of the famous vita aerea (aerial screw) and ala battente (beating wing), thought to be forerunners of the modern helicopter and airplane, respectively. The museum also houses a varied collection of industrial artifacts, including trains, and several reconstructed workshops, including a watchmaker's, a lute maker's, and an antique pharmacy.
