On November 28, 2019, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology of Florence will celebrate its 150th founding anniversary and will participate in the 2019 edition of Museomix. The moment allows a rethinking of the entire institution, beginning from its original mission, then moving toward an accessible, shared contemporary vision by opening a dialog and discussion with a wider and diversified public. The objective is to communicate the enormous value of the museum’s collections through a critical study of the past with an eye toward an open and civil future. In order to obtain a larger community of reference, the museum intends to engage the local population which lives and works daily in the same territory as the institution. The museum will also bridge to the large student community found in Florence and the community of foreigners. We also intend to engage those associations involved in social work promoting social integration, intercultural dialog and welcoming of migrants. We hope that various groups will actively participate in the revitalization of the museum so that its mission will become more contemporary and elevate its socio-cultural value.

The Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology of Florence holds a vast collection of ethnological objects from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, which were gathered over a period of five centuries. The original nucleus originated from the Medicean collections and later, from the 18th-century holdings of Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo. The Museum was founded in 1869 by Paolo Mantegazza in a crucial period for the creation of the Italian identity, when Florence was the capital of the new-born Italian nation state. Mantegazza’s viewed the new science of anthropology as the “Natural History of Man”, a holistic field of study integrating both biology and culture. During the colonial/fascist period, the Museum was transferred to the prestigious Palazzo Nonfinito (“Unfinished Palace”) where it is still housed.