Museum of Mineralogy

The origins of the Museum of Mineralogy, located at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the University of Pavia, date back to the late 18th century. The oldest part of the collection actually originates from the "mineral kingdom" section of the Natural History Museum founded by Lazzaro Spallanzani.

The mineral collection is currently represented by two main collections: a general systematic collection and a regional collection, where the most representative minerals from each Italian region are gathered. The museum also displays collections of notable historical interest, such as the "Angelo Bianchi Collection," which includes a series of minerals from Val Devero (collected in the early 1920s), the "Meteorite Collection," which includes, among others, a meteorite that fell in 1794 near Siena and was collected by Spallanzani himself, and a "Collection of Siberian Jaspers" donated to the museum by Duke Melzi D'Eril in 1802. The museum also offers collections of minerals and rocks for educational use, featuring the most common minerals and rocks found in the Earth's crust.