{"id":10153,"date":"2023-04-17T10:14:18","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T08:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/museum\/il-museo-di-scienze-naturali\/"},"modified":"2023-07-31T10:07:08","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T08:07:08","slug":"the-museum-of-natural-sciences","status":"publish","type":"museum","link":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/museum\/the-museum-of-natural-sciences\/","title":{"rendered":"The Museum of Natural Sciences"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The first nucleus of the natural history museum of the Foundation mainly consisted of minerals and botanical specimens and was exhibited at Palazzo Mellerio (the remains of which are in the square next to the town hall) in 1875, until they were moved to Palazzo San Francesco in 1885. A significant contribution to the collection came from donations by the first curator of the museum, Giulio Bazzetta, a great enthusiast of natural sciences. He was also responsible for the taxidermy work on many animals from the Ossola region that are displayed in the showcases. Today, the Museum of Natural Sciences includes collections in botany, mineralogy, geology, mammalogy, entomology, herpetology, paleontology, comparative anatomy, ornithology, as well as sections dedicated to the Sempione Tunnel and the achievements of aviator Geo Chavez.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The botanical collection<\/h4>\n
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The botanical collection is composed of various specimens, including branches, trunks, seeds, and fruiting bodies of different plant species. Its current appearance, dating back to the second half of the 19th century, is the result of contributions from scientists and enthusiasts, including botany experts Giuseppe Gagliardi and Stefano Rossi, who provided a significant portion of the local flora specimens.<\/p>\n

The collection was further enriched with findings collected by members of the Italian Alpine Club of Domodossola from Canton of Valais, Anzasca Valley, and Sempione area.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The collection of mineralogy and geology<\/h4>\n
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The collection comprises over a thousand specimens. A first nucleus was donated to the Foundation by Giulio Bazzetta at the end of the 19th century. It was later expanded with donations from more than 80 local collectors and enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

There are samples collected in the Val d’Ossola, an area characterized by a wide geological variety, thus rich in quarries and mines. Specimens from various locations in Piedmont, other Italian regions, and several parts of the world are also present. Among the donors, “Giorgio Spezia,” the inventor of the method for producing synthetic quartz, is remembered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The herpetological collection<\/span><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The herpetological collection includes amphibians and reptiles. The specimens are taxidermied and preserved in alcohol solution. The first method was used for the conservation of large-sized and robust-skinned animals such as crocodiles and marine turtles, while the second method was employed for smaller animals and amphibians, unsuitable for taxidermy. The specimens were collected from Val d’Ossola, as well as other regions of Italy and the world.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Paleontological Collection<\/span><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The valuable paleontological collection includes specimens from different areas. The collections comprise fossils belonging to vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants, including bones, teeth, silicified woods, and numerous ammonites. The collection took shape thanks to significant donations in the late nineteenth century by scholars and enthusiasts.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The collection of comparative anatomy<\/h4>\n\n

The collection consists of osteological specimens from specimens originating from South America, Africa, and Asia. These artifacts were of great interest because they were connected to the then-recent publications of Charles Darwin; precisely during those decades when the theory of the evolution of the human species and natural selection were spreading, this material was useful for educational and scientific purposes both in the university and museum settings.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The malacological collection<\/h4>\n

The malacological collection displays specimens of shells donated by naturalists who brought to Ossola what they collected during their intercontinental journeys.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The entomological collection<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Formed between 1877 and 1933, the entomological collection consists of insect specimens, largely acquired through funding from the Foundation that sponsored expeditions specifically for collecting insects, for which Odoardo Pirazzoli was appointed. The collection was also supplemented by donations from citizens of Ossola. The specimens were collected from the Val d’Ossola, as well as from different geographical areas such as Africa, India, Java Island, and South America.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The ichthyological collection<\/h4>\n

In addition to the collections of corals, crustaceans, echinoderms, and sponges, probably from the Mediterranean Sea, there is a ichthyological collection with naturalized specimens from various parts of the world; it includes pufferfish, sawfish, and sharks.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The mammalogical and ornithological collection<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The mammalogy collection includes locally sourced taxidermied mammals and a South American group (Argentina, Chile, and Mexico) donated by Ossolan collectors. The rich ornithological collection, also the result of donations, comprises hundreds of birds with nests and eggs. Alongside the collection of local birds, there are others from America, some of which are very rare and valuable. Most of the locally sourced animals, both mammals and birds, were prepared and taxidermied by experts Giulio Bazzetta and Innocenzo Bazzi.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The collection of Cavalier Giovanni Battista dell’Angelo<\/h4>\n

A section of the museum is dedicated to the bequests of Cavalier Giovanni Battista dell’Angelo (1835-1911), who donated his personal collection to the Foundation in 1890. He was a scientist and philanthropist with a passion for natural sciences. The collection includes mineralogical, geological, paleontological specimens, as well as taxidermied mammals and birds.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first nucleus of the natural history museum of the Foundation mainly consisted of minerals and botanical specimens and was exhibited at Palazzo Mellerio (the remains of which are in the square next to the town hall) in 1875.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"museum-category":[219],"museum-country":[220],"museum-curator":[],"museum-director":[],"museum-tag":[],"class_list":["post-10153","museum","type-museum","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","museum-category-collezioni-en","museum-country-palazzo-san-francesco-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/museum\/10153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/museum"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/museum"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/museum\/10153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"museum-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/museum-category?post=10153"},{"taxonomy":"museum-country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/museum-country?post=10153"},{"taxonomy":"museum-curator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/museum-curator?post=10153"},{"taxonomy":"museum-director","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/museum-director?post=10153"},{"taxonomy":"museum-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museicivicidomodossola.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/museum-tag?post=10153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}