MUSEO CIVICO DI SCIENZE NATURALI “E. CAFFI”

Only one small part of the specimens preserved in the Museum is exhibited to the publicmajority is held in the study collections, which represent a valuable and irreplaceable nature archive. These collections provide a deeper understanding of the environmental changes, of theevolution and the distribution of current species, as well as documenting vanished species. The material is available to scholars and enthusiasts of naturalistic disciplines.

Le civic collections count several thousand, many of which date back to the establishment of the Bergamo's first museum nucleus, which arose at the Royal Technical Institute in 1861. Some exhibits have a considerable historical interest.

Le zoological collections include specimens from around the world, together with species typical of Bergamo's fauna. They are well represented all five vertebrate classes. Of particular note is the rich collection of arthropods, which counts over one million exhibits, including the collections of arachnids and insects.

Le collections dedicated to Earth sciences include numerous materials from both the bergamasque territory and from other regions of the world. There are important collections of ornamental stones, minerals of economic interest e study samples concerning the building stones.

Le palaeontological collections of the Museum include over 55,000 exhibits. The main core is the Bergamasque Palaeontology Collection, which preserves splendid fossils from the orobic territory. La Collection of Non-Bergamasque Palaeontology collects instead artefacts and casts from around the world, acquired through donations and purchases, with the aim of offering a as complete an overview as possible of the fossil heritage preserved in the Museum.