Who we are

Sistema Museale di Ateneo (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.

Sistema Museale d’Ateneo (SMA), established in September 2012 and heir to the previous Museums Commission (1982), today takes up the mandate of those early pioneers, through collections that make it possible to admire the vast and varied historical, scientific and artistic heritage brought together by every segment of the University.

An exhibition itinerary consisting of nine structures located in the historical centre of Pisa whose original and precious assets tell the visitor about the development of knowledge and methods of investigation in the various disciplines, along a sort of journey through the main stages of the evolution of modern scientific and cultural thought. The nine SMA museums, together with the Museum of Natural History, housed in the Certosa di Calci (just over ten kilometres from Pisa) now constitute the University museums.

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

Sistema Museale di Ateneo 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.