Museo di Mineralogia

The Mineralogy Museum of the University of Pavia preserves the mineralogical part of the natural history collection founded by Lazzaro Spallanzani in the late eighteenth century. Its holdings include systematic and regional collections, historic suites and a meteorite from the 1794 Siena fall.

Why it matters

The museum’s oldest holdings belonged to the mineral kingdom section of Spallanzani’s natural history museum. Today its principal collections cover mineral species systematically and minerals representative of Italy’s regions, alongside teaching collections of common rocks and minerals. Historic holdings include the Angelo Bianchi Val Devero collection assembled in the early 1920s, Siberian jaspers sent by Duke Melzi d’Eril in 1802 and the Siena meteorite collected by Spallanzani.

What to notice

The systematic and regional collections present two complementary approaches: classification by mineral properties and examples associated with Italian regions. Historic objects include the 1794 Siena meteorite, the Siberian jaspers sent in 1802 and minerals from the Val Devero suite. Fossils displayed with the minerals extend the collection’s account of Earth’s history.

Context and history

The mineral collection developed within the University of Pavia’s natural history tradition and later became a separate museum within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Its teaching collections reflect the university’s long use of specimens in geological education. The related Kosmos natural history museum shares the institution’s history and founding context, while the mineralogical and zoological collections are now presented separately.