Pisa holds a treasure  of exceptional historical and artistic finds, which have made it one of the favorite travel destinations of all tourists, Italian and non-Italian. The mind obviously runs to Piazza dei Miracoli, where you can admire one of the most beautiful and exciting open-air artistic sites in the world. But on the banks of the Arno there is not only the Leaning Tower to admire. Here is a complete guide of all
the museums that are located in the city and in its immediate vicinity.

The Ancient Ships of Pisa

The Museum of the Ancient Ships of Pisa hosts the Roman ships found in the excavation site of the San Rossore area, where a no longer exists branch of the Auser river ran.
Wood and other organic materials have been incredibly preserved, so much so that many of the boats still had their cargo on board.
The cause of these shipwrecks have been a series of disastrous floods, caused by human intervention in the local ecosystem.
The exhibition also presents a collection of artifacts that tell the history of Pisa from its origins. Even the building that gives hospitality to the Ancient Ships of Pisa is a precious testimony: it is the Medici Arsenals, built in the sixteenth century to strengthen the fleet of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
After centuries in which they were also used as warehouses and as army stables, the Arsenals have finally been restored and now house the museum. Website

Palazzo Blu

Located on the southern Lungarno in the heart of the historic center of the city, a few steps from the Ponte di Mezzo and Palazzo Gambacorti, seat of the Municipality, the ancient noble palace restored by the Pisa Foundation, and managed by the Palazzo Blu Foundation, is proposed as a modern tool for the enrichment of the cultural offer of the city and is
part of the wider tourist enhancement project of the circuit of museums overlooking the Lungarno, the artery of great historical and cultural value that crosses the city from east to west.
Inhabited by the Giuli Rosselmini Gualandi family until the seventies of the twentieth century, the Palace was then purchased in 2001 by the Cassa di Risparmio di Pisa
Foundation, now the Pisa Foundation, which has completely restored it and made it accessible to the public since 2008.
It gave hospitality to a lot of important exibition like fUTURIS (2019), MARK CHAGALL (2018), MAGRITTE AND DUCHAMP(2018), ECHER (2017), dALI' (2016) and more. Website

Botanical Museum of Pisa

Botanical Garden Founded in 1543 by the naturalist, physician and botanist Luca Ghini (1490-1556), it is the first university botanical garden in the world.
Originally built on the banks of the Arno River, it was moved to its current location in 1591 and then gradually expanded to the current extension of 3 hectares.
It houses plants from 5 continents: the succulents of African and American deserts; the aromatic plants of the Mediterranean scrub; the species of the Tuscan marshes; numerous old
trees and many others. Botanical Museum Heir of the ancient Gallery, established in 1591 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando I de 'Medici, it still retains the Picture Gallery, composed of seventeenth-century portraits of illustrious botanists, the monumental door of the entrance to the Gallery and the "Studiolo" for seeds from the botanical garden.
The museum also preserves the ancient herbariums of the University of Pisa.
The structure is part of the University Museum System of the University of Pisa. Website

National Museum of San Matteo

The National Museum of San Matteo is the most important museum of painting and sculpture in Pisa, located in the square of San Matteo in Soarta. Located in the medieval convent of San Matteo, it overlooks the
Arno with an elegant facade in Pisan Romanesque style and a classical facade. Website

National Museum of the Royal Palace

The Royal Palace was built in 1583 by Bernardo Buontalenti for Francesco I de 'Medici, and was to replace - as the residence of the Lordship in Pisa - the Medici palace located near the church and convent of San Matteo.
The project included some domus and medieval towers dating back to the 11th-12th century and still partially visible: that of the Gaetani counts of Terriccio, Pomaya and d'Oriseo (the tower of the Verga d'Oro and the tower of the Cantone, this the latter still partially visible on one side) and was remodeled several times, during the 17th and 19th centuries.
Since 1989 it has housed the National Museum, which houses numerous testimonies of the families who lived there, consisting of paintings, portraits, furnishings, tapestries, armor. Website