Museo Storico Nazionale Dell' Arte Sanitaria

Located just east of Rome’s Vatican City, this medical history museum is housed in a former anatomical theater where students dissected corpses to better understand human anatomy. The anatomical theater was part of the complex of Santo Spirito in Sassia, a learning hospital established in the 12th century.

Today, the museum includes a reconstruction of a 17th-century pharmacy and alchemical laboratory (where you can see a reproduction of Rome’s famous alchemical door), a large library of old books, and an impressive display of anatomical models. The wax models include the alleged skull of Pliny the Elder, and a rare ivory anatomical Venus from the 17th century.