Museo cantonale di storia naturale
The natural history museum in Lugano displays animals, fungi, minerals and fossils of Ticino across 1,100 square metres; admission is free.
No sound? Check your device’s silent switch.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum traces its origins to the "Gabinetto di storia naturale", founded in 1853 by the naturalist and politician Luigi Lavizzari. In the second half of the 1970s it was completely rebuilt and opened to the public in 1979. Today it belongs, as a department, to the cantonal Department of the Territory (Dipartimento del territorio) and carries out its own scientific and educational work.
Its mission is to research, document, study and communicate the natural heritage of the canton of Ticino. It works in the fields of mineralogy, palaeontology and geology, botany, mycology, and invertebrate and vertebrate zoology, and serves as a point of contact for citizens, schools, research institutions, associations and the administration; the Monte San Giorgio fossil site and Info-Fauna advisory services are also among its topics.
The two floors house the 1,100-square-metre permanent exhibition, an auditorium with 100 seats and the workshop, with offices, a library, a laboratory and five collection rooms above. Large dioramas show Ticino's most important habitats, complemented by sections on fungi, minerals, rocks, fossils, tracks and extinct species, as well as an interactive globe.
Highlights
- Dioramas of beech forest, chestnut grove, hedgerow, wetland and alpine zone
- Fossils from Monte San Giorgio
- Eleven display cases on fungi and 13 on Ticino minerals
- OmniGlobe: interactive sphere with Earth and space themes
- Free admission
Permanent exhibitions
- Dauerausstellung zur Natur des Tessins – Across 1,100 square metres, dioramas show plants and animals of Ticino's most important habitats, complemented by sections on fungi, minerals, rocks and fossils.
- Fossilien des Tessins – The section leads chronologically through the life history of the region, from Carboniferous plants and the Triassic fossils of Monte San Giorgio to finds from the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Pliocene.
- Founded
- 1853
- Operated by
- Kanton Tessin, Dipartimento del territorio
- Director
- Filippo Rampazzi
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
| Groups | –Groups and schools, please register in advance. |
|---|
Free admission.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
- Family tours & workshops
Activities for children and families as well as programmes for children and young people (currently for 11- to 14-year-olds).
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| School programs | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | The museum offers activities for children and young people, workshops, activities for schools and courses for adults. A virtual tour is available on the website. |
