museum of natural history

The Museum of Natural History of Verona is one of the most important naturalistic museums in Italy, with collections ranging from palaeontology to zoology, from mineralogy to botany. Housed in the elegant Palazzo Pompei, a 16th-century Renaissance building designed by the famous architect Michele Sanmicheli, the museum holds over 2 million specimens that document the natural history of the Earth and the biodiversity of the Veronese territory. Founded in 1862 thanks to the donation of private collections, the museum is particularly famous for its palaeontological collection with fossils from the Lessini mountains and the Veronese territory, including fossil fish from Mount Bolca considered among the best preserved in the world.

The exhibition halls feature dinosaur skeletons, reconstructions of prehistoric environments, dioramas with stuffed animals, mineral collections and a rich section dedicated to local fauna and flora. The museum is much appreciated by families for its educational activities and interactive workshops.

The foundation and early nineteenth-century collections

The Museum of Natural History was born in 1862 thanks to the donation of important private collections to the City of Verona. The original nucleus was formed by the collections of Count Ludovico Moscardo (six hundred naturalistic specimens collected in the 17th century) and those of the Veronese naturalist Stefano De Stefani who during the nineteenth century had accumulated thousands of fossils, minerals and zoological finds. From the beginning, the museum was characterised by attention to local palaeontology: the Lessini Mountains, the mountains that surround Verona to the north, are very rich in marine fossils from the Cretaceous period (100-65 million years ago) when the area was submerged by a tropical sea.

The famous deposit of Mount Bolca, located in the Lessini, supplied the museum with hundreds of perfectly preserved fossil fish that became the highlight of the palaeontological collection. During the nineteenth century, the museum was enriched thanks to donations from collectors, explorers and Veronese missionaries who travelled the world sending exotic specimens to the museum: tropical birds, African mammals, marine shells, insects. This practice, typical of nineteenth-century natural history museums, made it possible to constitute comparative collections that documented worldwide biodiversity.

In 1924, the museum moved to the current location of Palazzo Pompei, a magnificent Renaissance building designed by Michele Sanmicheli in 1530 for the noble Pompei family. The palace, with its large frescoed halls and decorated ceilings, offered suitable spaces for the growing collections and gave the museum an architectural setting of great prestige. The combination of Renaissance architecture and naturalistic collections creates a fascinating contrast.

During the 20th century, the museum intensified its scientific research activity and systematic collection. Expeditions were organised in the Lessini for palaeontological excavations, systematic collections of local fauna and flora, and scientific cataloguing of existing collections. The museum became a reference point for naturalists, palaeontologists and geologists studying the Veronese territory.

Scientific publications, conferences, and collaborations with Italian and foreign universities consolidated the museum's scientific reputation. An important moment was the acquisition of dinosaurs: in the 1990s the museum bought casts of dinosaur skeletons and some original fossils that made it possible to set up a palaeontological room dedicated to the great Mesozoic reptiles. This section was a great success with the public, especially children, and helped make the museum known to a wider audience.

Today the Museum of Natural History proposes itself as a scientific and cultural centre with a threefold mission: conservation of the collections, scientific research, dissemination to the public. The collections, which exceed 2 million specimens, continue to be enriched through donations, collection campaigns and exchanges with other museums. A significant part of the collections (about 80%) is preserved in the depots and accessible only for scientific studies.

The research activity focuses on palaeontology, on the geology of the Lessini, and on the study of local biodiversity. The museum collaborates with the University of Verona and other research bodies on projects studying past climate change through fossils, the evolution of species, and the conservation of contemporary biodiversity. Scientific publications, dissertations and doctoral research use the museum's collections as a source of data.

The educational activity is aimed especially at schools and families: every year the museum organises hundreds of guided tours, practical workshops and interactive activities that teach children and young people the principles of biology, geology and evolution. The workshops allow visitors to touch real fossils, observe minerals under the microscope, classify insects and understand comparative anatomy through animal skeletons. Special events such as the Night of the Museums, Palaeontology Days, and themed weekends attract thousands of visitors.