Palazzo dell’Accademia delle Scienze in Turin houses the oldest Egyptian museum in the world, with over 40,000 artifacts from the charming Nile civilization, including statues of pharaohs and sphinxes, funerary objects, temples, and rare accessories.

The second most important museum in the world after Cairo, the history of Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) begins with the Mensa Isiaca, a bronze tablet purchased by Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy in 1628. Arousing great interest among scholars, it prompted several expeditions to Egypt to explore further.

In the second half of the 18th century, numerous “Piedmontese” scientific trips took place in the African country, such as that of Vitaliano Donati, professor of botany and natural history at the University of Turin, who discovered several remarkable statues, including the granodiorite statue of Ramesses II and the goddess Isis of Coptos (now two of the museum’s masterpieces).

The road to Memphis and Thebes passes through Turin.

(Jean-François Champollion, 1824, Egyptologist)

Spurred by the growing craze for collecting relics from ancient civilizations, in the early 19th century, Bernardino Drovetti, Consul General of France, acquired over 7,000 artifacts, which he then sold to King Charles Felix of Savoy in 1824. He added other classical antiquities from the House of Savoy, including the Donati collection, to create the world’s first Egyptian Museum.

Today, spanning 12,000 m2, the Museum houses five exhibition floors with a chronological tour and over 40,000 artifacts, including many absolute masterpieces, such as the mesmerizing Hall of Statues, an impressive display of monumental sculptures, including the statue of Ramesses II and the seated statue of Khufu.

Among other treasures, noteworthy are the Papyrus of the Book of the Dead, nearly nineteen meters long and containing a collection of formulas for the afterlife; perfectly preserved mummies and funerary objects, including that of Queen Nefertari; the splendidly painted Mayan Chapel;
the Tomb of Kha and Merit with its precious sarcophagi; the Sphinx from the Temple of Amun; and many others.

There are also many curiosities, such as the wonderful statues of cats, sacred animals in ancient Egypt, likely used as containers for animal mummies.

In 2022, the botanical garden was also inaugurated in the museum courtyard, dedicated to the flora of ancient Egypt, including the blue lotus, flowers that open at dawn and close again at sunset, and, of course, papyrus, which originally grew in dense marshes along the Nile or its delta.

The Egyptian Museum offers the thrill of a “space-time visit to ancient Egypt” and the daily, as well as sacred, life of its inhabitants—a dream come true for its exceptional director, Christian Greco.

The Secret

Many artifacts lead us to the incredible refinement of ancient Egyptian fashion, such as Merit’s wig made from locks of human hair decorated with flowers and tiaras, or the pleated linen tunic.

Useful info

Museo Egizio
Via Accademia delle Scienze 6
10123 Turin
Tel. +39 011 5617776
info@museoegizio.it

Ticket: full price €18, for other promotions or packages, please visit the Museum website