Italy is home to nearly 5,000 museums, attracting millions of tourists each year. And that’s not even counting the countless monuments and historical landmarks that make the Bel Paese one of the world’s top vacation destinations. But have you ever wondered which are the oddest museums in Italy? Here’s a list of the 11 most curious and unusual museums – some of which are sure to leave you amazed. One example? The Shit Museum!
- Museum of Illusions
- Selfie Museum
- Museum of Corkscrews
- Museum of the Love Letter
- Museum of Gas Station
- Museum of Padlocks
- Museum of Fakes and Deception
- Bonsai Museum
- Museum of Typewriters
- Museum of Papyrus
- The Shit Museum
1. Museum of Illusions (Lombardy)
Museums like this can be found in nearly every major Italian city and across the globe, but if you’re visiting Milan and looking to be dazzled by optical illusions, this is the perfect spot for you. The Museum of Illusions is a fun and educational experience for all ages, designed to trick your senses while also offering fascinating insights into the human mind.
The concept behind the museum is that «our illusions are a playful and extraordinary way to remind us that our perceptions of the world around us are often nothing more than a distortion of reality». Some rooms are truly mind-bending, like the Vortex Tunnel, which will leave you feeling disoriented, as if you’re struggling just to take a step – though the walkway, which seems to be swaying, is actually completely stable!
In the Smart Playroom, you’ll discover a true mental playground, featuring a wide array of challenges such as puzzles, brainteasers, construction kits, impossible knots, and mathematical games, all designed to sharpen your cognitive skills.
2. Selfie Museum (Tuscany)
There are countless Selfie Museums around the world, and now Italy has one of its own. If you’re looking for a museum designed for capturing endless selfies to enhance your Instagram feed, the Selfie Museum in Florence is the perfect destination. The concept for this unique space originated in 2014 in Los Angeles, born from the vision of photographer and art director Adrien Berlin, who began hosting private events and parties in his studios, using elaborate backdrops primarily sourced from film sets. After relocating to Europe, Berlin continued to develop the format in other cities, with the Selfie Museum officially opening its doors in Florence in October 2021.
Adrien Berlin describes the idea behind the museum: «People always have a camera in hand – the smartphone – and can share the photos they take instantly. We realized this was a great opportunity to explore the relationship between artist and visitor by creating immersive set designs where people could literally step into the artwork and capture images of themselves as part of the scene. This inspired the creation of the first experimental, immersive installations. The Florence Selfie Museum is a continuation of this process, featuring more than 50 installations by over 400 artists, spread out in a 1,000-square-meter labyrinth».
The Selfie Museum in Florence is much more than a simple exhibition space. It’s a creative playground, offering visitors the chance to engage directly with the artworks and artists by creating and sharing their own photographic masterpieces on social media.
3. Museum of Corkscrew (Piedmont)
Uncorking a bottle of wine is a ritual that always carries a certain magic. The eyes of the onlookers are fixed on the person performing the task, as the corkscrew’s spiral twists into the cork, puncturing it. With just the right amount of pull, the cork emerges from the neck of the bottle with a soft, satisfying pop. While we’re all familiar with this essential tool for enjoying wine, few stop to wonder about its origins. When did the story of this fascinating tool begin?
Established in 2006 within the walls of an old cellar adjacent to the Barolo Municipal Castle, the Museum of Corkscrew pays tribute to this indispensable object, without which we could not savor the “nectar of the gods”. The museum boasts a collection of 500 antique corkscrews from around the world, dating back to the second half of the 17th century. These corkscrews are crafted from an astonishing variety of materials – wood, iron, aluminum, brass, bone, horn, ebony, mother-of-pearl, bronze, ivory, silver, and even tortoiseshell.
The museum’s 19 sections chronicle the birth and evolution of this humble yet historically rich tool, revealing countless curiosities. Visitors can marvel at decorative and figurative corkscrews, as well as pocket-sized, advertising, animal-themed, and even erotic designs. There are also miniature corkscrews, originally crafted for perfumes and medicinal bottles. One section is devoted to exquisite, artisan-made corkscrews, designed for aristocrats and clergy. These were often crafted from precious materials by master goldsmiths and adorned with family crests or personalized initials, marking their owners’ elevated status.
4. Museum of the Love Letter (Abruzzo)
Nestled in a charming 18th-century palace in Torrevecchia Teatina, a quaint village in the heart of Abruzzo, lies a unique treasure: the Museum of the Love Letter, the only one of its kind in the world. Since its inauguration in 2012, this small but extraordinary museum has gathered over 25,000 love letters spanning various eras, the oldest dating back to 1830 and discovered in a Naples antique market.
Among these are around 10,000 entries from the museum’s renowned love letter contest, still held annually since its inception in 2000. The collection also features historically and culturally significant letters, such as one penned by Ugo Riccarelli, one of Italy’s most celebrated writers, and some 3,500 letters from across the globe written in homage to Pope John Paul II after his passing.
In addition to these heartfelt missives, the museum preserves a number of historic letter collections, including one from World War I. Visitors can also explore an assortment of vintage postcards, artworks, archaeological relics, and various other objects, all tied to the enduring theme of love. This is a museum for dreamers, a place where visitors can rediscover the mysterious force that binds the universe together – love.
5. Museum of Gas Station (Lombardy)
In the town of Tradate, just a 30-minute drive from Malpensa Airport, lies the Fisogni Museum – a captivating collection of gas pumps and fuel station memorabilia. In 2000, it earned recognition from the Guinness World Records as the most comprehensive collection of its kind in the world! Open by appointment only, the museum showcases nearly 200 fuel dispensers and over 5,000 items, including vintage signs, posters, plaques, oil cans, hydrometers, compressors, fire extinguishers, and even toys. The collection also features an impressive array of vintage postcards and gadgets. Among the museum’s most prized pieces are a Swiss gas pump from 1892 and the fuel dispenser once used by Benito Mussolini.
Founded in 1966 by entrepreneur and collector Guido Fisogni, the museum has steadily grown to become the world’s foremost collection dedicated to the history of fuel distribution. As a member of the Lombardy Design Museum Circuit, it also boasts an extensive archive of documents, advertising materials, and technical drawings, which are regularly consulted by students and designers.
6. Museum of Padlocks (Emilia Romagna)
In Cedogno, just outside Parma, lies the world’s first museum dedicated entirely to padlocks. The museum houses the remarkable collection of Vittorio Cavalli, a carpenter-turned-collector who began amassing padlocks during World War II. Over the course of seventy years, he gathered nearly 6,000 padlocks of every kind, era, material, size, and shape, sourced from the far corners of the globe, with a particular focus on Europe and Asia.
The story began in 1943, when, while serving in the military, Vittorio lost a borrowed padlock during a bombing that destroyed the barracks in Trento where he was stationed. From that moment, he resolved to collect every padlock he came across, never dreaming that his passion would one day lead to the creation of the Museum of Padlocks in 2001.
Today, his collection is the world’s largest display of padlocks, featuring an astonishing array of types: cross-spring padlocks, barbed spring locks (most common in Asia and among the oldest), toothed drum locks, helical spring locks (some incredibly small), combination locks using numbers, letters, or unique symbols, twist-off secret locks, talismanic locks, zoomorphic designs, bicycle locks, and even love locks.
7. Museum of Fakes and Deception (Piedmont)
Nestled in a medieval castle in Verrone, in the province of Biella, the Falseum, or Museum of Fakes and Deception, invites visitors to reflect on the intricate concept of falsehood. This unique museum explores the various deceptions humanity has perpetrated throughout history, offering an engaging yet enlightening journey into the realm of lies. It reveals how falsehoods have significantly shaped historical events – sometimes with disastrous consequences, as many wars and atrocities have been founded on deception, and at other times, to positive effect, leading to geographical discoveries and artistic innovations.
Since the dawn of civilization, humans have deceived. While it is true that some animals employ deceptive tactics, such as camouflage, no other species possesses the same capacity for intentional lying and dissimulation as humans do. People deceive for myriad reasons: self-defense, aggression, wealth, or amusement. Within the Museum of Fakes and Deception, visitors can delve into a crucial cultural and anthropological dimension of our existence.
Guests are encouraged to cultivate a critical mindset, learning the art of inquiry, analysis, and the skills necessary to thoughtfully construct their perspectives – an invaluable endeavor, particularly for children and young adults. Each room in the museum not only narrates stories and imparts knowledge but also poses intriguing questions and challenges to stimulate reflection.
In today’s world, understanding the techniques of deception is more vital than ever. In an era overwhelmed by a ceaseless barrage of information, where fake news can occupy the same space and credibility as the most trustworthy reports, how do we discern truth from falsehood?
8. Bonsai Museum (Lombardy)
Unique in the world, this enchanting corner of the East, located just a few kilometers from Milan, boasts a priceless collection of ancient plants, exquisite vases, and rare books. Inaugurated in 1991, the Crespi Bonsai Museum holds the distinction of being the first permanent bonsai museum globally, born from Luigi Crespi’s passion to offer bonsai enthusiasts the chance to admire a remarkable collection, each tree bearing the marks of centuries on its bark.
The breathtaking specimens on display have been nurtured by some of the most esteemed Japanese masters, including Kato, Kawamoto, Kaneko, Kawahara, Ogasawara, and many others. The collection comprises approximately 200 bonsai, which are rotated seasonally to showcase each species at its most magnificent. A highlight of the museum is the recreation of the “toko-no-ma”, the traditional Japanese alcove designated for displaying objects of profound spiritual significance.
Enhancing the collection further are exquisite tansu furniture and various decorative elements, including antique Japanese lanterns. The vase room houses an impressive array of valuable Chinese and Japanese vases, featuring containers for bonsai from the Qing (1644-1735), Tokugawa (1615-1868), and Meiji (1868-1912) periods.
The most significant tree in the Bonsai Museum is undoubtedly the millennial Ficus retusa Linn. This remarkable specimen arrived in Italy from China in 1986 after more than a decade of negotiations, making it a one-of-a-kind masterpiece of inestimable value. Known across every continent, it stands as an extraordinary bonsai with origins shrouded in the memories of generations of expert cultivators, meticulously nurtured for centuries using the most refined techniques.
9. Museum of Typewriters (Trentino-South Tyrol)
The journey in search of the oddest museums in Italy brings us to the enchanting Trentino-South Tyrol. Nestled in the historic center of the picturesque village of Parcines, near Merano, is the Museum of Typewriters, dedicated to its inventor, Peter Mitterhofer, a local native who crafted the first prototype in 1864.
With an impressive collection of over 2,000 pieces, the museum boasts one of the largest assemblages of historic typewriters in the world, offering a fascinating glimpse into 160 years of history surrounding this essential tool of modern communication. It chronicles the evolution of the typewriter from its early days to the digital age, when it was ultimately supplanted by computers in the 1980s.
Among the museum’s standout attractions are the “Writing Ball”, a Danish typewriter created by Malling-Hansen in 1867 (the first commercially-produced typewriter), the exquisite Olivetti Valentine, celebrated for its innovative design, and the iconic “Enigma” cipher machine, pivotal in determining the outcome of World War II. Visitors can also marvel at the typewriter of the renowned American inventor Thomas Edison.
Additional highlights include the American “Sholes & Glidden” from 1874, which helped introduce the typewriter to the global stage, the 18-carat gold Princess Praesent, a symbol of post-war German economic recovery, and the Crandall, often hailed as the most beautiful antique typewriter.
The collection is further enriched by an extensive historical archive – with books documenting the history of technology, patent documentations, textbooks, user manuals, correspondence, and much more – fully accessible to the public through the digital catalog of Cultural Heritage in South Tyrol.
10. Museum of Papyrus (Sicily)
You might expect to find a museum dedicated to papyrus in Egypt, but it is, in fact, nestled in Syracuse, Sicily. Here, within the historic walls of the former convent of Saint Augustine in Ortygia – an architectural gem owned by the Sicilian Region dating back to the 1300s – lies the Museum of Papyrus. This museum is dedicated to the study, preservation, and promotion of the rich cultural heritage of papyrus, which occupies a prominent place in the annals of civilization.
As the only museum in the world entirely devoted to papyrus and its myriad uses, it stands out for two primary aspects: first, its commitment to museum activities that encompass the recovery, conservation, and dissemination of papyrus culture in all its forms; second, its rigorous scientific and historical research focused on the plant itself, the manufacturing processes and treatment of papyrus paper across different epochs, and the challenges of conserving ancient papyrus artifacts.
With its wealth and specificity of exhibits, the Museum of Papyrus caters not only to specialists but also to inquisitive visitors. The exhibition is thoughtfully divided into various sections, showcasing an array of papyri dating from the 15th century BC to the 8th century AD and an assortment of papyrus artifacts, including containers, sandals, ropes, and mats. Visitors can also marvel at papyrus boats sourced from Lake Tana and Lake Zwai in Ethiopia, as well as Lake Chad, and exquisite Egyptian wall decorations that illustrate the significance of papyrus and document its diverse applications.
11. The Shit Museum (Lombardy)
The world’s first museum dedicated to excrement undoubtedly earns its place among the oddest museums in Italy. Conceived within the historic walls of a medieval castle in Castelbosco, located in the province of Piacenza, is found in an industrial site renowned for producing milk for the famed Grana Padano cheese. Every day, its 3,500 bovines yield approximately 500 quintals of milk, accompanied by an impressive 1,500 quintals of manure. This remarkable quantity of waste has been ingeniously transformed into an ecological, productive, and cultural initiative.
The Shit Museum offers a continually evolving exhibition that captures a rich tapestry of aesthetic and scientific experiences – both human and animal, contemporary and historical – demonstrating how shit can be both valuable and vibrant. From the revered scarab beetle, considered divine by the ancient Egyptians and serving as the museum’s emblem, to the architectural applications of dung throughout history, the collection traverses ancient Italic civilizations and extends to Africa. It also features renowned literary works and showcases contemporary scientific research alongside artworks that delve into the use and reuse of waste.
This modern cabinet of curiosities is guided by the principles of science and the artistry of transformation. Noteworthy initiatives include the museum’s use of excrement to generate energy – producing up to 3 megawatts per hour – and the invention and patenting of “Merdacotta” (baked shit), a unique material crafted from clay and manure. This versatile substance has been molded into a variety of items, including vases, flower pots, tiles, plates, bowls, and cups, all of which can be purchased in the museum shop. While it may bear the unconventional title of “The Shit Museum”, one certainly cannot dismiss it as… a shit museum!
