Museo universitario di paleontologia
Scientific museum of the University of Modena with fossils of vertebrates and invertebrates, mainly from the Apennine Neogene, and a Sala dei Dinosauri (dinosaur hall); currently closed to the public.
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About the museum
The museum was founded in the second decade of the 19th century as a Gabinetto di Storia Naturale (natural history cabinet), but its roots go back to 1786, when Bishop Giuseppe Maria Fogliani of Modena left his collection to the university’s rectorate. The most important part of the holdings was built up in the second half of the 19th century thanks to major donations.
The collections consist mainly of animal fossils, vertebrates and invertebrates, along with some plant remains. The most substantial part comprises material from the Neogene formations of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, the result of work by university teachers and naturalists such as Pietro Doderlein and Dante Pantanelli, including remains of marine reptiles and part of the skeleton of a rorqual. In 1926 the museum acquired the Coppi malacological collection, in 1946 the Bentivoglio fossil plants from the Carboniferous, and later the Montanaro Gallitelli collections; in the 1960s it received skeletons of Camptosaurus and Allosaurus from Utah.
The museum is spread across several sites: the department building in Via dell’Università holds the invertebrate and fossil plant collections, while the Sala dei Dinosauri with the fossil vertebrates is at Via Berengario 14. The university’s website reports that the museum is temporarily closed to the public for renovation work.
Highlights
- Fossils from the Neogene of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines
- Skeletons of Camptosaurus and Allosaurus from Utah
- Remains of marine reptiles and a rorqual
- Coppi malacological collection (1926)
- Bentivoglio fossil plants from the Late Carboniferous
Permanent exhibition
- Collezioni paleontologiche dell'Università di Modena – Vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, largely from the Apennine Neogene, with a Sala dei Dinosauri on Via Berengario.
- Operated by
- Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Admission & discounts
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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