Museo di Mineralogia dell'Università di Parma

About the museum

The Mineralogy Museum was founded in 1814 as a section of the Natural History Cabinet, when important collections were donated to the University of Parma. The historic core comes from the Linati, Piroli, Cavezzali and Guidotti collections, whose minerals are listed in a handwritten catalogue compiled by Professor Girolamo Cocconi in 1866–67.

Later donations from the Cassa di Risparmio di Parma e Piacenza (savings bank) and more recent acquisitions were added. Today the museum holds around 5,000 specimens, of which about 1,000 are on display, from localities all over the world and in many cases of great historical, scientific and systematic interest.

The museum is part of the Sistema museale di Ateneo (university museum system) of the University of Parma and is housed in the Earth Sciences building on the Parco Area delle Scienze campus.

Highlights

• About 1,000 minerals on display from a collection of 5,000 specimens
• Historic Linati, Piroli, Cavezzali and Guidotti collections
• Handwritten catalogue by Girolamo Cocconi (1866–67)
• Specimens from around the world of historical and systematic interest

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione mineralogica storica – Around a thousand mineral specimens from localities all over the world, largely from the 19th-century collections donated to the university.

Founded

1814

Operated by

Università di Parma – Sistema museale di Ateneo

Visitors per year

approx. 1,500

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

By car, take exit 15 from the ring road (tangenziale) into Parma.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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