Located inside the sixteenth-century Palazzo Rospigliosi, the Museum covers a surface of over 1400 square meters. Created in 1998 as a way to enhance the municipal building, it has taken on its current set up in 2005, becoming a Demo-ethno-antropological Toy Museum and a landmark for the region. The museum, now a lively place full of initiatives, hosts cultural and educational activities, conferences, exhibitions and shows, all aimed at fostering reflections and propositions with creativity and originality.

The exhibition, with around a thousand pieces displayed, takes visitors on a journey back through time, from modern electronic toys to handcrafted toys from the 1850’s. Famous factory brands, now legendary in the mechanical toy field, like Lehmann, Marylin, Hornby, Ingap, Rivarossi, Bing, Shuco, Tipp&Co are identified in some of the collections like Billig, Crestetto Oppo, Luisa Dellanzo, Marina Caprari, Sabrina Alfonsi; while the section dedicated to dolls includes iconic pieces like Lenci, Furga, Dep and Barbie. Private donations and artist collaborations contribute to a rich schedule of monothematic temporary exhibitions.
The toys displayed are placed in a narrative context that highlights their formal and technical evolution, as well as their social, economical and cultural role over time.

The museum highlights the anthropological meaning of toys as a vehicle of cultural identity, social memory and a teaching tool, offering an insight into the everyday life and collective imagination of children of the past. In this regard, the collection becomes a collective tale and the embodiment of costumes and traditions long gone.
Particular emphasis is placed on accessibility and inclusivity: the Museum is set up as a fluid and dynamic space, capable of accommodating different audiences and adapting to the needs of children, adults, the elderly and disabled people alike. A place open to the town and to active participation where memory, creativity and culture converge and reinvent themselves.

Campagna fotografica realizzata nell’ambito del progetto “Oltre Roma” e finanziata dalla Regione Lazio, Avviso Pubblico “La cultura fa sistema 2021”