Museo geologico G. Cortesi
Geopalaeontological museum in the Ospitale Santo Spirito at Castell’Arquato, with Piacenzian fossils, Pliocene molluscs and whale remains.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum grew out of the civic fossil collection of Castell’Arquato, documented from May 1927 and initially kept in the municipal archive. Its original nucleus was a collection of fossil molluscs assembled between the 19th and 20th centuries by the lawyer Odoardo Bagatti. In 1961 it was moved to the Torrione Farnese and in 1990 to the Ospitale Santo Spirito, a 16th-century building whose larger spaces lend themselves to the remains of whales.
The discovery of an almost complete whale skull in 1983 near Tabiano increased the museum’s fame and led to the creation of a working group dedicated to conservation, research and teaching; later excavations have yielded further cetacean fossils. The museum is a point of reference for the geopalaeontological study of the Piacenza territory and also carries out educational and restoration activities.
The route is organised into six sections: the history of life, with trilobites, ammonites and fossil fish; the whale gulf, with local cetaceans; the Quaternary, with the great mammals of the Ice Age; the Piacenzian and the geological reserve established in 1985; the malacology of the molluscs typical of the stratotype; and the shells studied by Leonardo da Vinci. The museum’s website notes that the venue is currently closed to the public.
Highlights
- Whale skull found near Tabiano in 1983
- Cetacean fossils of the Pliocene gulf
- Molluscs typical of the stratotype of the Piacenzian
- Ice Age mammals
- Seat in the 16th-century Ospitale Santo Spirito
Permanent exhibitions
- Il golfo delle balene – Remains of fossil cetaceans from the Piacenza clay hills (calanchi), including the whale skull found in 1983.
- Il Piacenziano e la malacologia – Molluscs typical of the stratotype of the Piacenzian and the history of the geological reserve established in 1985.
- Visitors per year
- approx. 5,303
Admission & discounts
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Accessibility
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Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| School programs | yes |
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| Good to know | The museum runs educational activities; for information and bookings please call 0523 803215. |
