In the previous post, we mentioned the incredible city of Bologna and all that it has to offer a visitor who has found a vacation rental in Emilia Romagna and wants to explore her capital. Not only is it a foodie’s paradise with an impossibly rich and delicious culinary tradition, it is also a cultural hotspot where both past and present bring fascinating things to the table. Bologna is home to amazing churches, architectural gems, art galleries, museums, and more and is an excellent place to take in beautiful objects both manmade and natural and to learn more about the world that we live in. One particularly fascinating place in which to do so is the Giovanni Capellini Museum.
Located on via Zamboni, the Giovanni Capellini Geological Museum, or Museo Geologico Giovanni Capellini, is connected to the university museum system Alma Mater Studiorum of the famous and ancient University of Bologna and reflects the incredible legacy of the university by being a rather excellent and special gem. As the university is one of the oldest in the world, it has also allowed this museum to accumulate a rather extraordinary collection over a long period of time, almost five hundred years. This collection boasts more than one million items including rocks, plants, fossils, giant dinosaur skeletons, a Mammoth skeleton, other prehistoric animals, and more.
Located on via Zamboni, the Giovanni Capellini Geological Museum, or Museo Geologico Giovanni Capellini, is connected to the university museum system Alma Mater Studiorum of the famous and ancient University of Bologna and reflects the incredible legacy of the university by being a rather excellent and special gem. As the university is one of the oldest in the world, it has also allowed this museum to accumulate a rather extraordinary collection over a long period of time, almost five hundred years. This collection boasts more than one million items including rocks, plants, fossils, giant dinosaur skeletons, a Mammoth skeleton, other prehistoric animals, and more.
It was in 1860, when geologist and palaeontologist, Professor Giovanni Cappellini, who later became the head of the Department of Geology at the University of Bologna began actively working on the collections that they really grew. The Department of Natural History of the university was divided into 3 parts – mineralogy, zoology, and geology – in 1862 and each worked on the establishment of a museum in addition to their daily duties to their students and research. In 1881, the museum was opened to the public and gained many additions due to donations resulting from the International Geological Congress, which was held in Bologna that year. Professor Capellini alone managed to collect 30,000 fossil samples by 1911 and with the massive growth of the collections in the past century, the museum now boasts that astounding collection of more than one million samples.
The museum is a beloved gem among locals and children, in particular, love to come and learn and to be wowed by the bigger pieces such as the impressive 26-metre-long, 4-metre-tall Diplodocus, the fourteen skeletons of elephants, the two skeletons of proboscis animals called Mastodon arvernensis (early elephants), and more. The largest and most important paleontological museum in Italy in terms of the size and importance of its collections, it is a must-see for dinosaur-lovers both young and old and anyone who wants to learn more about our world and has found a vacation rental in Emilia Romagna. Just come visit the historic centre of the charming medieval city of Bologna and discover a much more ancient past that is on display inside one of the city’s ancient University’s incredible museums.
Museo Geologico Giovanni Capellini
Via Zamboni, 63 - 40126 Bologna
+39 051 2094555
sma.museocapellini@unibo.it
Opening Hours:
Winter (1st of September to May 31st):
Tuesday – Friday, 9am - 1pm
Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, 10am - 6pm
Summer (1st of June to 31st of August):
Tuesday – Friday, 10am - 1pm
Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, 10am - 6pm
Closed on the 1st of January, 1st of May, 15th of August, and 24th and 25th of December
Tickets:
Standard ticket - €5
Reduced-rate tickets (young people aged 19-26 and visitors over 65) - €3
Free admission for students & staff of the University of Bologna, those under 18 years-of-age, school teachers of all grade levels with ID, visitors with disabilities and accompanying visitors, licensed journalists and tourist guides, ICOM card holders, Card Cultura holders, Students of Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna.
Museo Geologico Giovanni Capellini
Via Zamboni, 63 - 40126 Bologna
+39 051 2094555
sma.museocapellini@unibo.it
Opening Hours:
Winter (1st of September to May 31st):
Tuesday – Friday, 9am - 1pm
Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, 10am - 6pm
Summer (1st of June to 31st of August):
Tuesday – Friday, 10am - 1pm
Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, 10am - 6pm
Closed on the 1st of January, 1st of May, 15th of August, and 24th and 25th of December
Tickets:
Standard ticket - €5
Reduced-rate tickets (young people aged 19-26 and visitors over 65) - €3
Free admission for students & staff of the University of Bologna, those under 18 years-of-age, school teachers of all grade levels with ID, visitors with disabilities and accompanying visitors, licensed journalists and tourist guides, ICOM card holders, Card Cultura holders, Students of Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna.