Museo Naturalistico Giorgio Segre

Cherasco's natural history museum grew out of one man's lifetime of collecting. Named for the researcher Giorgio Segre, whose family donated his collections to the town, it brings together thousands of shells, minerals, fossils and bird specimens under one roof. Small but methodically arranged, it doubles as an introduction to the geology and wildlife of the surrounding Tanaro hills.

Why it matters

The museum's natural science collections include several fields of study. The malacological section displays shells from around the world, with rare specimens alongside everyday ones. The ornithological room pairs taxidermied birds with explanations of bird biology rather than presenting them as mere trophies. The mineralogical collection explains the make-up of the planet, while the geological and paleontological sections concentrate on local stratigraphy and local fossils, so the museum explains the very ground Cherasco stands on. Five dioramas reconstruct environments of the surrounding territory and connect the collections with the Langhe landscape.

What to notice

The malacological collection includes more than six hundred species arranged systematically. The ornithological display presents specimens alongside information about bird biology, including beak shape, wing structure and habitat. Mineral collections are arranged to explain Earth's structure. Local fossils come from formations beneath the town, linking the displays with the marl slopes of the Tanaro valley.

Context and history

The museum is a memorial as much as an institution: it carries the name of Professor Giorgio Segre, a naturalist whose research collections were given to the city by his family in the mid-2000s so they could be studied and shown to the public. The museum is part of Cherasco's civic museum network alongside the Museo Civico Adriani. Its collections are organised for study and display, including systematic shell groupings, explanatory mineral collections and educational dioramas.