Palazzo Pitti’s Gallery of Modern Art Becomes a Multisensory Museum

A new experience is turning Florence’s Gallery of Modern Art at Palazzo Pitti into a multisensory museum. “La storia tra le dita” (“History at Your Fingertips”) offers visitors a new way to explore the 19th century every Thursday morning through May 2026. The tour, organized by the Uffizi Galleries, is included in the Palazzo Pitti admission ticket and available by reservation.

Led by Gianfranco Terzo, an art teacher at the Liceo Artistico di Porta Romana in Florence, participants will be guided through a tactile journey among a selection of sculptures that represent key artistic movements and styles of the 19th century. Visitors will be able to explore with their hands works such as the portrait of Grand Duke Leopold II by Ottaviano Giovannozzi, the sculpture of Lorenzo Bartolini created by his pupil Pasquale Romanelli, and the famous bronze bust of Giuseppe Verdi by Vincenzo Gemito.

The experience expands beyond sculpture: each visit will also include the presentation of everyday 19th-century objects—writing instruments, accessories for hairstyles and clothing, and other artifacts that evoke daily life in a bygone era. The objects change from session to session, each one connected to the figures introduced along the way.

The sensory journey continues with musical and literary excerpts, accompanied by an olfactory experience inspired by the scents of the time: Parma violets, orange blossoms, tobacco, and chocolate. These fragrances, rich with history and emotion, help recreate the atmosphere of the century that shaped modern Italy.

“La storia tra le dita” invites visitors to rediscover the art, culture, and spirit of the 19th century through touch, sound, and scent—an immersive way to experience history inside one of Florence’s most evocative museums.

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