# Ancona: the museum you go through by hand

> At the Museo Tattile Statale Omero in Ancona the sculptures are made to be handled, and entry is free in 2026. Hours, prices and how the building works.

URL: https://myitalia.it/stories/the-museum-you-touch-with-your-hands
Last updated: 2026-09-02

At the Museo Tattile Statale Omero in Ancona the works on display are made to be touched with your hands, and entry to the museum is free in 2026.

## Free in 2026, and the rule is reversed

Entry to the museum costs nothing in 2026, with a separate €5 ticket for the Design Collection, free on the first Sunday of the month. All prices here are in euros, checked on September 2, 2026.

The instruction at the door is the opposite of the one you have obeyed in every other Italian museum. You put your hands on the sculpture. Copies and originals alike are chosen and mounted so that a shape can be read by the palms.

The word in the official name is tattile, tactile, and the whole layout follows from it. For a sighted visitor the effect is odd and then useful: a bronze read by hand tells you things your eyes have been guessing at all week.

## Hours that trip people up

The museum opens Tuesday to Saturday from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and on Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (15:00 to 18:00 and 10:00 to 18:00 on Italian signs).

That afternoon-only pattern on weekdays is the detail that ruins mornings. From April 1 to October 31 the Friday opening moves earlier, to 2:00 pm, and that is the only weekday exception.

Sunday is the long day, ten in the morning to six in the evening, and it is also the day the Design Collection is free if you land on the first Sunday of the month.

## The building is a plague hospital on an island

The Mole Vanvitelliana is a pentagonal lazzaretto, a quarantine station, designed by Luigi Vanvitelli on an artificial island in the port: first stone laid on July 26, 1733, works finished in 1743, close to 20,000 square meters of floor.

It was built outside the old walls, deliberately, because Ancona was a free port under pope Clement XII and cargo and crews had to be held apart from the city before they could enter it. The pentagon and the water around it are quarantine engineering, not decoration.

Today it holds cultural and musical events, and it is accessible to visitors with disabilities thanks to ramps in all its halls. The address is Banchina Giovanni da Chio 28.

## Getting there, and what the address means

The address is Banchina Giovanni da Chio 28, in the port area, which is not the same thing as the old town of Ancona. The Mole stands on its own artificial island, outside the line of the old walls, because that is where a quarantine building had to be.

Ramps run through all the halls and the Comune lists the building as accessible to people with disabilities. Given that the museum inside it is designed to be visited by touch, the accessibility of the container is part of the design rather than an afterthought.

Give the address rather than the name if you are taking a taxi. The building has three identities, lazzaretto, event venue and museum, and only one of them is on the street sign.

## The Mole has no published opening hours

The Comune of Ancona publishes no opening times for the Mole Vanvitelliana itself: the 20,000 square meter building opens according to the events it hosts, and the listed contact for that information is cultura@comune.ancona.it.

That is worth an email before you come, because the museum inside has fixed hours while the courtyard and halls around it do not. Two different schedules, one address.

The rest of Ancona sits above the port on a hill; the Mole is at sea level in it. See [things to do in Ancona](/towns/ancona/things-to-do) for what fits either side of an afternoon here.

## FAQ

### Can you touch the artworks at the Museo Omero?

Yes. The Museo Tattile Statale Omero in Ancona is built around handling: the works on display are meant to be touched with your hands, not viewed from behind a rope. Entry to the museum is free in 2026 and the separate Design Collection costs €5.

### How much does the Museo Omero cost?

Nothing for the museum itself in 2026. The Design Collection is a separate €5 ticket, free on the first Sunday of each month. Prices on this page are in euros and were checked on September 2, 2026.

### What are the opening hours of the Museo Omero?

Tuesday to Saturday 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Sundays and public holidays 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (15:00 to 18:00 and 10:00 to 18:00 on Italian signs). Between April 1 and October 31 the Friday opening moves forward to 2:00 pm.

### What is the Mole Vanvitelliana?

A pentagonal quarantine station on an artificial island in the port of Ancona, designed by Luigi Vanvitelli: first stone July 26, 1733, finished 1743, close to 20,000 square meters. It now hosts cultural and musical events, and the Museo Omero sits inside it.

### Is the Museo Omero accessible in a wheelchair?

The Mole Vanvitelliana that houses it has ramps in every hall, and the building is listed as accessible to people with disabilities by the Comune of Ancona. The address is Banchina Giovanni da Chio 28, in the port area of the city.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ad Ancona, dentro la Mole Vanvitelliana, il Museo Tattile Statale Omero espone opere che si toccano con le mani: l'ingresso al museo e' gratuito (2026), la Collezione Design costa 5 euro. | [Museo Tattile Statale Omero](https://www.museoomero.it/) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| La Mole Vanvitelliana di Ancona e' un lazzaretto pentagonale progettato da Luigi Vanvitelli: la prima pietra fu posata il 26 luglio 1733 e i lavori finirono nel 1743. Si estende per quasi ventimila metri quadrati su un'isola artificiale nell'area portuale, fuori dalle vecchie mura, e oggi ospita iniziative culturali e musicali; e' accessibile alle persone con disabilita' grazie alle rampe presenti in tutte le sale. | [Comune di Ancona](https://www.comune.ancona.it/it/point-of-interest/758716?category_id=344165) | medium | 2099-12-31 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/city.ancona.1600.jpg
Author: Terragio67. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ancona_-_Monumento_ai_caduti_di_Ancona,_dettagli_-_GT_ver2_-_2025-09-11_21-09-15_001.jpg

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