Museo Egizio

The Museo Egizio in Turin is the world's oldest museum devoted entirely to ancient Egypt, and its collection is often ranked second only to Cairo's. It was founded in 1824, when King Charles Felix of Sardinia acquired the collection of Bernardino Drovetti. It occupies the seventeenth-century Palazzo dell'Accademia delle Scienze, designed by Guarino Guarini.

The galleries move from prehistory to the Coptic period, but certain pieces draw most attention. The intact tomb contents of Kha and Merit, a New Kingdom architect and his wife from the workers' village of Deir el-Medina, include their furniture, linen, food and coffins. The papyrus collection holds the Turin King List and an ancient map of gold mines. A hall of monumental statuary features a celebrated seated figure of Ramesses II. The small rock-cut temple of Ellesiya, a gift from Egypt for Italy's help in saving Nubian monuments in the 1960s, stands reassembled inside.

It draws close to a million visitors a year, and a thorough visit easily fills half a day.