Collection of Mineralogy
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The Mineralogy collection is placed in the Department of Earth and Ocean Science and preserves one of the richest and oldest group of minerals present today in Sicily, such as the beautiful finds from the Sicilian chalky-sulphur series, the various and rare minerals collections from all continents, the rocks and decorative stone materials, the fine Sicilian amber, the precious and ancient instruments of study and research.
In the new setting the logic of the exhibition is to travel within the material, trying to give a new meaning and a new collocation to each piece: from the micro to the macro, from meteorites coming from a very distant space-time to the atom, to allow the visitor to codify the structures of “life” and “system” of each piece, within an overall vision of nature’s law government and its principles.
The collection was born from the initial core of the Airoldi donation, arrived to the University Institute of Geology in the mid 19th century, including geological and paleontological finds. This collection is based on collecting criteria, rather than on a naturalistic scientific interest. The other collections in the Institute are mainly attributable to the Miocene period and to the chalky-sulphur regional context.
For example, some meteorites samples, which are specimens of great scientific interest, are excluded from this category. In addition to these ones, there are samples coming from southern Italy, collected by scientists belonging to the Institute.
Centro Servizi
Sistema Museale di Ateneo
Università degli Studi di Palermo
Via Lincoln, 2 (Orto Botanico)
90133 PALERMO, Italia
Codice Fiscale 80023730825, Partita IVA 00605880822
091 238 96775 - 091 238 93781
Collection of Mineralogy
Responsible Prof. Marcello Merli
Via Archirafi, 36, 90123 Palermo
Phone: +39 091 23861648
The Museum is open from Monday to Friday (on request) from 09:00 am to 02:00 pm.
Full ticket: € 3,00
Reduced tickets for school groups: € 2,00