The MUSE is the contemporary face of Trento — Renzo Piano's 2013 building set in the new Le Albere district on the south edge of the old town, a former Michelin factory site redeveloped as a mixed-use neighbourhood. The stepped white roofs of the museum echo the surrounding mountains, and the long water basin in front reflects them.
Inside, the museum is organised around a vertical descent — from glaciers and high-altitude ecosystems at the top, through alpine forests and meadows, down to a tropical greenhouse in the basement modelled on the Udzungwa rainforest in Tanzania (a long-standing MUSE research site). It is one of Italy's best modern museums and the obvious choice for a half-day with children, but the building alone is enough reason for any visitor to make the walk south.