Museo del Paesaggio e della Natura

Three exhibition halls at Villa Matarazzo bring together the landscapes of the Cilento National Park: river gorge, karst mountain and coastal dune. The Museo del Paesaggio e della Natura opened in Santa Maria di Castellabate in June 2021, using dioramas, scientific models and multimedia to introduce the park's natural environments.

Why it matters

The museum presents the variety of the protected area in one place, connecting the coastal setting of Castellabate with the park's inland mountains and river valleys. It is housed within the park's centre for marine reserves and Mediterranean landscape at Villa Matarazzo, and forms part of the authority's network of visitor and educational centres.

What to notice

Each hall focuses on a different habitat. One reconstructs rivers and gorges, another explores the karst mountain environment, and a third represents the coastal dune. Three-dimensional scenery, artificial rockwork, scientific models of plants and animals, and multimedia help make the landscapes tangible. The exhibition is designed for a broad audience, including school groups.

Context and history

The park inaugurated the museum on 19 June 2021 at Villa Matarazzo. Its location extends the villa's role as a centre for explaining the marine reserves and Mediterranean landscapes of the area, and complements the park's biodiversity research centre at Vallo della Lucania.