The origins of the school date back to 1630, when the first Institute of the Piarist Fathers was founded in Florence. The Institute "Scuole Pie Fiorentine" has occupied its current premises since 1925, and is managed by the Tuscan Provincial Board of the Piarist Fathers.

The school has a collection of antique instruments for physics (163 objects) and a naturalist collection (195 specimens). The former consists of instruments for solid and fluid mechanics, for acoustics, optics, thermology and electricity. Most of the instruments date from the period ranging from the mid-nineteenth century through the first half of the 20th. The naturalist collection is composed of minerals, rocks, and fossils, as well as stuffed animals, reptiles preserved under glass and insects. Of special importance is the ornithological collection, consisting of around 80 specimens datable starting from the 19th century. These specimens were restored in 2003 and rearranged in showcases according to modern display principles. The collection also includes wooden models of plants,models of human skulls and a skeleton.