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It was conceived by Marcello Canini in 1953, after having visited the Wax Museum of Madame Tussaud in London and that of Grevin in Paris. The first exhibition, consisting of 38 characters, was exposed to the public in 1958 in some rooms of the Baths of Diocletian. In 1969-70 the Museum was set up in the Palazzo Colonna in Piazza SS. Apostoli. It is currently ranked the third in Europe after those of London and Paris. Among its various statues of famous people and reconstructions of historical scenes you can admire those of Machiavelli, Mazzini, Lenin, De Gasperi, Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mao Tse Tung, Byron, Wagner, Charles Chaplin, Alberto Sordi, Nino Manfredi, Roberto Benigni, the Pooh, Francesco Totti, Zucchero and Luciano Pavarotti, Ligabue and Gigi D'Alessio, Anthony Hopkins, Julia Roberts, Nelson Mandela, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley.

For children, reconstructions of the characters from the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty" and some prehistoric animals are also on display.

Since December 8, 2008, the Museum has also been enriched by the statues of Saint Padre Pio and Barack Obama. Since March 2009, it has been possible to admire the new statue of Alberto Sordi dressed in the costumes of Marchese del Grillo. Also present are the statues of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI.