Pisa Charterhouseformer cloistered monastery, now a museum
The Calci Charterhouse, also known as Pisa Charterhouse, is monumental complex located in the small village of Calci at just 10 kilometres from Pisa. The Calci Charterhouse is a former cloistered monastery of the order of San Bruno founded in 1366, later occupied by Carthusian monks who abandoned it in 1969 leaving it to become what is now the Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa.
The museum and its surroundings are worthy of a visit both for the beauty of the architectural structure, immersed in the typical Tuscan landscape, and for the different types of museums it contains and for the numerous works of artistic value.
From Pisa it takes around thirty minutes to reach Calci by urban transport. By car, for those coming from the A12 Genova-Livorno motorway, the recommended exit is Pisa Centro. For those coming from the FI-PI-LI highway the recommended exit is Cascina or Navacchio.
Museum of Natural History of the University of Pisa
A visit to the Calci Museum is a unique experience: it contains zoological, mineral, and fossil finds, exhibited in over 4,000 square metres of rooms and galleries arranged on three floors. The cetacean gallery is the first in Europe for scientific value. Visiting the museum is also interesting because it documents the lifestyle of the cloistered monks who lived there for a long time. The Museum allows free visits, guided tours also for groups, educational activities for schools.
