Civico Museo di Storia Naturale di Trieste
Established | 1846 |
---|---|
Location | Via dei Tominz, 4 Trieste |
Coordinates | 45°38′25″N 13°48′02″E / 45.640405°N 13.800529°E |
Type | Natural history museum |
Public transit access | 11, 22 buses |
Website | MuseodiStoriaNaturaleTrieste.it |
Civico Museo di Storia Naturale di Trieste is a natural history museum in Trieste, northern Italy. It contains several collections, including more than two millions botanical, zoological, mineralogical, geological, and paleontological specimens.
History
The museum was opened as a zoological museum in 1846 with the name "Gabinetto Zoologico Zootomico" and set in Palazzo Biserini in Piazza Hortis (ex Piazza Lipsia) in 1852, where has coexisted with the Civic Library and the literary museums until 2010. In 1855, under the protectorate of Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, the museum was renamed "Civico Museo Ferdinand Maximilian". Through many donations and as a result of several international expeditions (such as the Novara frigate), the museum has developed a range of exhibits. While keeping a zoological address, it now has flora, geological, and paleontological specimens and a large library containing works in various languages.
In 2010, the museum moved to the new headquarter in via Cumano (entrance from via dei Tominz 4), next to Civico Museo della Guerra per la Pace Diego de Henriquez, with whom is part of an only museum center.[1]
Curators and Directors
Heinrich Koch - Honorary Director (1846–1852)
Heinrich Freyer - Curator (1852–1864)
Adamo Simeone de Syrski - Director (1866–1876)
Charles de Marchesetti - Director (1876–1921)
Mario Stenta - Director (1921–1928)
Giuseppe Müller - Director (1928–1945)
Edoardo Gridelli - Curator (1945–1957)
Renato Mezzena - (1960–1987)
Sergio Dolce - (1990–2010)
The collections
Botany
Botanical collection contains over 1,500,000 specimens, including
Zoology
Zoological collections consist of several parts:
- a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) fished in Kvarner Gulfin 1906, that is the biggest shark conserved in a European museum;
- a Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia;
- an Birds of paradise.
- an caves. The curator of the entomological collection is Andrea Colla.
Paleontology
Paleontological collections consist of an historic collection and new addictions. The 19th century collection includes fish and leaf fossils from Bolca, Eocene specimens from Istria, and Late Cretaceous specimens from the Karst, such as fish and reptilian fossils from Komen (Slovenia). The collection contains also 300 fishes and nine reptiles, including Carsosaurus marchesettii ed Adriosaurus microbrachis. Among Quaternary specimens, the fossils from breccia di Slivia and the specimens of cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) from Caverna Pocala (TS) are the most important. New addictions include fossils from Villaggio del Pescatore paleontological site. Among these, Antonio dinosaur, a specimen of Tethyshadros insularis dated 75 million years ago, is the most important exhibits of the museum.[3]
The museum include an exhibition hall referred to
Mineralogy
Mineralogical collection includes thousands exhibits, mostly from former
The Halls
Wunderkammer
"Wunderkammer is a place where a collection of curiosities and rarities is exhibited".[6] The museum has a hall dedicated to the original "Cabinet of Curiosities" that was established in 1846. The museum states on their official website that the hall is "a fundamental nucleus of any museum".[7]
The Scientific Cabinet
The Scientific Cabinet showcases the Enlightenment Period from the late 1700s. Its exhibits include apothecary stations, alchemist labs, and the natural sciences.
Fossilization
This hall is referred to
Antonio
This hall contains the dinosaur called Antonio (
The hall includes other dinosaur exhibits from the same locality: front legs, a
The Food Chain
This hall consists of three rooms. The first two rooms contain a parade of animals corresponding to their place of the food chain. The third room takes visitors into the city to observe the food chain and inner workings in a modern setting.
References
- ^ "La Storia | Civico Museo di Storia Naturale – Comune di Trieste". www.museostorianaturaletrieste.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
- ^ "Collezioni Botaniche | Civico Museo di Storia Naturale – Comune di Trieste". www.museostorianaturaletrieste.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-07-31.
- ^ "Collezione di Paleontologia | Civico Museo di Storia Naturale – Comune di Trieste". www.museostorianaturaletrieste.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-07-31.
- PMID 23028670.
- ^ "Collezione di Mineralogia | Civico Museo di Storia Naturale – Comune di Trieste". www.museostorianaturaletrieste.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-07-31.
- ^ "Wunderkammer – definition of Wunderkammer in English | Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
- ^ "Civico Museo di Storia Naturale – Comune di Trieste". www.museostorianaturaletrieste.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-04-19.
- ^ "Le sale della fossilizzazione | Civico Museo di Storia Naturale – Comune di Trieste". www.museostorianaturaletrieste.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-07-31.
- ISSN 0272-4634.