Kircherian Museum

Kircherian Museum
Museo kircheriano
The Kircherian Museum in 1679
Map
Established1651 (1651)
Dissolved1916 (1916)
LocationPiazza del Collegio Romano 4, Rome
Coordinates41°53′56″N 12°29′04″E / 41.8989°N 12.4845°E / 41.8989; 12.4845
TypeArchaeology, science, and technology museum
FounderAthanasius Kircher

The Kircherian Museum was a public collection of antiquities and artifacts, a cabinet of curiosities, founded in 1651 by the Jesuit father Athanasius Kircher in the Roman College. Considered the first museum in the world, its collections were gradually dispersed over the centuries under different curatorships. After the Unification of Italy, the museum was dissolved in 1916 and its collection was granted to various other Roman and regional museums.