Collezione di Mineralogia dell’Università di Palermo

About the museum

The Mineralogy Collection of the University of Palermo is one of the oldest and richest mineral collections in Sicily. Its historic core dates back to the 19th century and began with a donation from Baron Cesare Airoldi to the university’s Institute of Geology, to which other study materials were added over time.

The collection is housed at Via Archirafi 36, in the former seat of the Institute of Mineralogy, now part of the Department of Earth and Sea Sciences. Since 2011 it has been open to the public again, particularly to school groups, with guided visits by appointment.

The route is conceived from the micro to the macro scale, from meteorites to the scale of the atom, and presents several thousand specimens: minerals of the Sicilian gypsum-sulphur series, rare specimens from all continents, rocks and ornamental stones, Sicilian amber (simetite), and antique scientific instruments and 19th-century teaching models.

Highlights

• Native sulphur with calcite from the Sicilian gypsum-sulphur series
• Fluorite
• Gypsum crystals with swallowtail twinning
• Hexagonal prismatic beryl crystal
• Sicilian amber (simetite)
• Babinet goniometer, Wülfing refractometer and historic teaching polyhedra

Operated by

Università degli Studi di Palermo – Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare (Sistema museale di Ateneo)

Visitors per year

approx. 598 (2024)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

There is no admission ticket.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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