Museo civico di storia naturale di Carmagnola
Civic natural history museum in the park of Cascina Vigna: minerals, plants and animals, with insects, reptiles and birds, in seven rooms with dioramas.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum was founded after the two floods that hit Carmagnola in September 1973 and February 1974. What remained of the natural history collections of the old Civic Museum and of the science cabinets of two schools was recovered, and the opportunity was taken to collect biological material in the field, mostly insects that had been abandoned or carried away by the water. The origins of the collections go back to the naturalist Giacinto Carena (1778–1859) from Carmagnola, secretary of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Turin.
The museum opened in 1976 in Palazzo Lomellini, in the city centre, and in 1990 it moved to its present site at Cascina Vigna, in the city park on the edge of Carmagnola, a few kilometres from the Po. Because the river area has become part of the protected areas system of the Piedmont Region, the museum also serves as a visitor centre of the Parco del Po.
The exhibition unfolds across seven rooms: five on the ground floor, designed for education, with systematic display cases, dioramas of regional habitats, palaeontology and mineralogy; two on the first floor, also reachable by lift, where the scientific collections are systematically arranged and open to the public. The collections comprise many thousands of specimens, especially insects, reptiles and birds, and are used by researchers from Italy and abroad.
Highlights
- Seven rooms with dioramas of Piedmont’s natural habitats
- Insect collection of many thousands of specimens
- Collections of reptiles, birds, minerals and fossils
- Housed in a farmhouse in the Cascina Vigna park, visitor centre of the Parco del Po
- Botanical trail of 23 trees in the park
Permanent exhibition
- Collezioni di storia naturale – Seven rooms with dioramas, systematic display cases and collections of insects, reptiles, birds, minerals and fossils.
- Founded
- 1976
- Operated by
- Città di Carmagnola
- Visitors per year
- approx. 1,627
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €2 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €1Children aged 6 to 14 and people over 65 |
| Children & teens | €1free up to age 6 · Free up to age 6; reduced from age 6 to 14. |
| Seniors | €1For people over 65. |
Free admission for holders of the Abbonamento Musei Piemonte Valle d'Aosta. Guided tours for school groups: €2 per pupil.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
According to the Carmagnolamusei portal, the museum is accessible to visitors with reduced mobility; the first-floor rooms can also be reached by lift.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Via del Porto 48 (navetta dalla stazione ferroviaria)
Trains stop at Carmagnola every hour or more often, between 5:00 and 23:00, from Turin, Savona, Fossano and Cuneo. A shuttle bus (ticket €1.20) leaves from the railway station and stops near the museum, at Via del Porto 48.
The museum is located in the Cascina Vigna park, on the edge of the city.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Wi-Fi
Visitors and researchers can connect to the internet via Wi-Fi.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Visits are booked by telephone. Guided tours are offered for school groups. |
