The museum holds a substantial permanent collection comprising of Egyptian, Etruscan, Roman artefacts as well as items belonging to the De' Medici family, who ruled Florence and, later, the rest of Tuscany during most of the period from 1434 to 1737, provided the Roman Catholic Church with four popes – Leo X, Clement VII, Pius IV, Leon XI – and married into the royal families of Europe. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions and events.