Museo Civico di Zoologia

Rome's Civic Museum of Zoology preserves a collection of roughly five million specimens assembled since 1932, from mollusc shells to a sixteen-metre fin whale skeleton. Much of the collection serves as a research archive; the galleries present a selection.

Why it matters

Founded in 1932, the Civic Museum of Zoology grew around collections assembled with the Regia Università di Roma, now Sapienza. The university contributed zoological teaching collections, including historical holdings of the Pontifical Archiginnasio. Donations and fieldwork expanded the museum's collections, which span conchology, entomology, ichthyology, herpetology, ornithology, osteology and taxidermy. Its research holdings preserve a record of biodiversity beyond what is shown in the galleries.

What to notice

The galleries present animal biodiversity through a fin whale skeleton, a coral reef diorama, a reconstruction of wetlands in the Roman countryside, and collections of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. The Arrigoni degli Oddi collection forms a historic ornithological core. Multimedia and multisensory displays complement specimens and comparative anatomy.

Context and history

The museum's founding in 1932 consolidated decades of zoological collections in Rome. The 1911 building on Via Ulisse Aldrovandi was designed to house the city's natural science collections beside the zoo established in the same park. An agreement with the university transferred zoological teaching collections, including material from the Archiginnasio Pontificio. Donations and fieldwork expanded the holdings. The institution combines public display with scientific custody of its collections.