The term Specola in Italian means observatory, a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. A number of palaces, institutes, museums and observatories in Italy carry the name, because at one time or another they housed an observatory. Among these:
La Specola - Natural history museum in Florence, Italy Palazzotto Specola in Pisa, now Domus Galileana Villa Specola di Lucca near Lucca, Tuscany Museo della Specola, Bologna Specola Vaticana (Vatican Observatory) La Specola, Padua - astronomical observatory in Padua