The Balì Museum has as its primary purpose the diffusion of scientific culture on the territory, both among the public of visitors and among students of schools of all levels. The Museum fulfills its mission through cultural, training, educational and informative activities and initiatives that it promotes and implements, including:

• visits to its permanent exhibition;
• planetarium shows;
• telescope observations;
• planning and execution of educational laboratory activities;
• organization of temporary exhibitions;
• refresher courses for teachers;
• collaboration with other museums and research institutions for training activities connected to educational courses as well as for the preparation of materials and aids, also of an informative nature;
• organization of science dissemination events;
• raising awareness of the public on topical issues in scientific research and on all aspects of culture that can be combined well with scientific dissemination.

The Service Charter is inspired by the following principles:

• Equality
  The Museum provides its services without distinction of sex, race, language, religion, political opinion and access to them is guaranteed to all citizens without limitations of any kind. The Museum does its best to guarantee access also to disabled users through the presence of adequate structures.
  
  
• Impartiality
  The Museum inspires its behavior on principles of objectivity, justice and impartiality. Users can count on the competence and availability of the staff in satisfying their needs, expectations and requests.
  
  
• Continuity
  The services are provided with continuity and regularity, in the manner and at the established times. Any interruptions to the services are promptly communicated by adopting all the necessary measures to reduce the inconvenience of users.
  
  
• Visitor participation and involvement
  The visitor is directly involved in the visit and in the use of the interactive stations, in the educational activities and in the informative events. The Museum undertakes to positively accept complaints/suggestions/reflections about the service provided and the quality of the same, thus involving the user in every decision and trying to satisfy every request in the best possible way.
  
  
• Security and confidentiality
  The Museum guarantees the compliance of the services provided with current legislation on safety and in full compliance with the provisions of the law for the protection of privacy. The user’s personal data is used exclusively for institutional purposes and is not processed by unauthorized personnel or transferred or otherwise communicated and/or disclosed to third parties.
  
  
• Professionalism of museum operators
  The personnel in charge base their behavior towards the public on the assumptions of kindness, courtesy and collaboration. The operators undertake to provide the services in a clear and understandable way, using a language that is easy and accessible to all users.
  
  
• Quality of services
  The Museum provides services according to criteria of effectiveness and efficiency, using all the resources at its disposal in a harmonious way. The offer of the Museum complies with its mission and is composed of different types of activities based on cultural topics of a predominantly scientific nature.

The Balì Museum is an interactive science museum that was founded in 2004 with the need to promote the dissemination of scientific culture in central Italy. Built inside the eighteenth-century “Villa del Balì” in the municipality of Saltara 15 km from Fano, the museum stands on an area already rich in culture and history.

With 40 interactive stations, a 60-seat planetarium, an astronomical observatory with several working telescopes, classrooms, all distributed over an exhibition space of two thousand square meters, the museum is in line with modern international science centers and reflects the now proven philosophy ” hands-on” in science communication.

The museum’s mission is to motivate, excite, amaze, entertain and, at the same time, make people reflect and reason to produce a change and a new attitude towards science in the visitor/student. The offer of the Museum is, therefore, addressed to everyone, both to the general public, with special events and evocative shows with a scientific content, from the physics of everyday life to the observation of the sky, and to school students of all levels, with laboratory activities based on informal teaching designed and conducted by expert animators. Particular attention is paid to families, to whom the last Sundays of the month are reserved, from October to May, with the offer of workshops for parents and children, scientific demonstrations, planetariums, even for the little ones, observations of the sky.

The Balì Museum is managed by the “Villa del Balì” Foundation, a non-profit organization.
Its main purpose is to manage a science museum in the Villa del Balì, as well as all the initiatives connected to the mission of the Museum, creating the best conditions for this purpose, also with the participation of private individuals.

The Statutory Bodies of the Foundation are:

• the CHAIRMAN of the Shareholders’ Meeting and of the Board of Directors;
• SHAREHOLDERS: Municipality of Colli al Metauro, Municipality of Fano, Municipality of Cartoceto, Cassa di Risparmio di Fano Foundation;
• 4 DIRECTORS members of the BoD;
• n° 3 AUDITORS.

The staff of the Museo del Balì is made up of:

• 1 Scientific Director
• 1 didactic-administrative secretary
• 5 museum entertainers

The history of the building is long and articulated. In this place a temple dedicated to the god Mars was erected in antiquity. Over time, the transition from Mars to Martino was easy: historical evidence speaks of a chapel dedicated to San Martino as early as 1165.

At the end of the fourteenth century Giovanni Filippo Negusanti, bishop of Sarsina, restored the building which thus entered the sphere of his family to remain there until the eighteenth century. The most important character for this place was undoubtedly Vincenzo Negusanti, bishop of Arbe and Dalmatia, an ecclesiastic of great authority and culture (he was present at the councils of Rome and Trent) and an expert in astronomy. Precisely to observe the stars from the four towers, built specifically for the purpose and now disappeared, Negusanti retired to the Villa of San Martino until his death in 1573.

In 1677 the Villa passed to the Marcolini family who took steps to embellish it, making it “a pleasant autumn holiday”. The current appearance of the building with the elegant two-flight staircase of the main entrance is due to this expansion. Due to the constant presence of Count Gian Gastone Marcolini, Grand Prior Balì of the Order of S. Stefano, the building soon took the name of Villa del Balì. The construction of a crypt under the lawn in front of the villa is due to him. The crypt is made up of four Lorraine crosses arranged to form four right angles. At the back there is an apse with a barrel ceiling on which stands out a huge red and white painted cross. In the center of the floor is a blind well. The whole structure was used for the initiations of the chivalric order of which Marcolini was a member. Today the crypt is unusable and closed to the public.

Over the centuries the Vila passed from owner to owner until it came into the possession of the Municipality of Fano. Today, the building is granted on a thirty-year loan to the Municipality of Saltara which has made it the seat of an interactive science museum with a strong astronomical imprint, following the tradition begun 500 years ago by Vincenzo Negusanti.

The museum equipment is distributed as follows:

Museum rooms
The permanent exhibition of the museum consists of 40 interactive stations distributed in the various museum rooms on the ground floor. These exhibits show phenomena and experiments related to perception, mechanics, optics and mathematics. Thanks to the interactive approach, with captions in Italian and English, science becomes hands-on, waiting to be discovered. With this setting, the visit can be both guided and autonomous. Visitors can thus measure themselves against the phenomena, reproduce them, develop inferences, while the role of those who hold the knowledge within the museum becomes that of the facilitator of learning.

Planetary
A large room on the first floor of the Villa contains an optical planetarium with 46 seats, dedicated to Giuseppe Occhialini, father of high-energy astrophysics, a native of nearby Fossombrone, which allows observation of the sky under a dome of 8 meters in diameter. Suggestive guided shows allow you to savor the wonders of a starry night on a journey among the stars, constellations and planets. Thematic shows also allow you to explore concepts of modern astronomy and astrophysics and to range in the field of history and literature.

Astronomical park
In the park of the Villa, on the left side, there is the astronomical observatory which allows live observation of the main celestial objects of the night sky and of the Sun. The modern instrumentation of the observatory includes, among other things, a main telescope from 40 cm in diameter and solar telescopes to observe the atmosphere of our star.
Thanks to them, it is possible to offer both educational activities for schools and moments of curiosity and study for the general public, such as special observations of the sky, astronomical events, astronomy courses.
In January 2013, a radio telescope was inaugurated next to the observatory, one of the few in Italy, to observe the sky even outside the optical band.

The Museum uses its spaces and equipment to provide various services according to the different targets:

For private visitors during opening hours:

• independent visits to the permanent exhibition;
• shows at the planetarium at precise times indicated on the site, at the ticket office and at the entrance door of the museum;
• telescope observations of celestial objects (booking required);
• temporary exhibitions (if any);
• construction workshops and scientific entertainment shows (activities included in the ticket price);
• film screening and cineforum (activities included in the ticket price);
• observation of the Sun (activities included in the cost of the ticket);
• in-depth seminars and conferences on current issues on Science & Society with free admission;
• birthday parties;
• thematic initiatives for particular astronomical events of a popular nature.

For schools and organized groups by reservation (at least 15 days before the day of the visit):

• guided tour of the permanent exhibition also in English;
• planetarium shows also in English;
• telescope observations of celestial objects;
• thematic activities and workshops for schools of all levels;
• school camps and of excellence;
• agreements with schools in the area with the export of services and activities in schools;
• refresher courses for teachers of all levels recognized by MIUR;
• temporary exhibitions (if any).

For organizations and companies:

• rental of the conference room for conferences and seminars;
• rental of the entire structure or parts of it for workshops and corporate events.

The Museum offers various supplementary services available to the public:

• internal refreshment point “Bar Solaris”, open during the opening of the museum;
• bookshop;
• free parking;
• agreements with private hauliers (Ditta Rosati and Ditta Salvadori) for schools in the province of Pesaro-Urbino.

The Balì Museum receives forty thousand visitors a year of which 75% are made up of schools and the remaining 25% from general users (occasional visitors and organized groups).

Throughout the school year, the Balì Museum works with schools and organized groups by reservation from Monday to Saturday, while it opens to the general public on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 15:00 to 19:30.

During the summer the Museum changes its opening hours and moves to the evening; in August it is open every day from 18:00 to 23:00.

The Museum is closed from 24 to 31 December.

The opening hours to the public are established by the Museum Foundation in compliance with current standards, and are adequately advertised through various channels: the website, social networks, mass media and printed materials distributed in the main information centers. Any variation from the standard (e.g. exceptional closures or openings) is also communicated through the same channels.

Access to the external area of the museum, to the bookshop and to the Bar Solaris is free. Access to the Museum, the Planetarium and the Observatory is subject to payment and is permitted for minors accompanied by at least one adult with age restrictions according to current regulations.

Adults are responsible for accompanying children and for any damage caused to the property.

Compatibly with the characteristics of the area, the spaces dedicated to the public have been made available for access by disabled visitors with the removal of architectural barriers, the presence of an elevator, ramps and dedicated toilets.

Areas for breastfeeding and changing babies are also set up and made available to new parents.

To receive information and to book, you can contact the museum secretariat from Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 13:00 at the following numbers: telephone: +39 0721 892390; email: reservations@museodelbali.it. The reservation by e-mail will be effective upon confirmation e-mail.

Reservations for schools and organized groups must be made at least 15 days before the agreed date for the visit. For general users, the reservation can also be made on the day of opening at the ticket office, subject to the remaining availability of seats. Reservations are required for the astronomical observatory; for the planetarium it is optional, but recommended for large groups or during particular openings in which a large turnout is expected.

The Museum has an information and reservation point at the entrance ticket office. With the operators it is possible to communicate by telephone, fax, e-mail.

Basic information can also be obtained on the museum’s website www.museodelbali.it, updated in real time with the various events and main news.

Posters and the schedule of current events are displayed at the ticket office and on the external bulletin board. Brochures in Italian/English with opening hours, costs, calendars, orientation maps of the museum, mailing list registration forms, suggestions and/or complaints forms are also available free of charge at the ticket office.

The regulation of the structure, the type of tickets, the list of reductions applied and free admissions granted are indicated at the ticket office and on the website.

Explanatory panels in Italian and English provide explanations for the use of the exhibits. Distributed in the rooms of the museum there are also indications for the restrooms, planetarium and conference room.

During the opening times, some unattended areas of the museum are used as cloakrooms.
Lost items are kept for 7 days, after which the Museum reserves the right to dispose of them as it sees fit. In the event of loss of personal items, the public is invited to verify by telephone that such loss has occurred at the museum, providing a name and telephone number. If so, the return can take place either by hand, upon presentation of an identification document, or by courier at the expense of the interested party. In no case can the Museum be held responsible for the loss of personal property.

Museo del Balì is located in San Martino, a hill in the municipality of Saltara, about 15 km from Fano.

The Museum can be reached comfortably by car both from the coast and from the inland by taking the SS73 bis E78 Fano – Grosseto highway, respectively in the direction of Rome or Fano, taking the Calcinelli exit. Then continue for 2 km towards the historic center of Saltara checking the signs for the Museo del Balì.

For those arriving from further afield, Fano can be reached using the A14 Bologna – Taranto motorway.

The Museo del Balì collaborates with various national partners including:

• National Museums;
• University;
• Research institutions.