Who we are

University Museum Network (SMA)

In 1543, for the first time in history, a Botanical Garden was created in Pisa. The purpose of its creation was to be “utile alli scholari” (useful to students), as its founder Luca Ghini wrote in his report for the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo de’ Medici.

At the time, the University of Pisa (1343) was already two centuries old. But only then did it begin to preserve, catalogue and organise for educational purposes the research and activities of those who had passionately taught there.

The University Museum Network, heir to the previous Museum Commission (1982), was established in September 2012. Today it takes up the mandate of the first pioneers, through collections that allow visitors to admire the entire historical, scientific and artistic heritage collected by each segment of the University.

An exhibition itinerary consisting of ten structures: nine museums in Pisa and the Natural History Museum of Calci, today a University Centre with administrative autonomy.

The museum’s exhibitions educate visitors in the development of knowledge and methods of investigation in the various disciplines. The Pisa University Museum Network is a kind of journey through the main stages in the evolution of modern scientific and cultural thought.

Thanks to its educational and training activities, the Pisa University Museum Network contributes both to university and school teaching activities and to the dissemination of culture, in order to fulfil the so-called “third mission“. Many of its activities fall within the scope of public engagement.

Organization of SMA

The Pisa University Museum Network is mentioned in Article 38 of the University Statute and in Articles 148-157 of the University General Regulations. It is governed by its own Regulations. The organs of the University Museum Network are the Chairperson and the Steering and Control Committee governed by articles 149, 150, 151 of the University’s General Regulations.