Museum of Mineralogy, Petrography and Volcanology

Scientific Coordinator: prof. Paolo Mazzoleni

The collections of the Museum of Mineralogy, Petrography and Volcanology are kept on the 1st floor of the building that houses the "Earth Sciences" section of the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences.

The history of this Museum commences in 1781, with the establishment of a Natural History Cabinet whereby a naturalist like Giuseppe Gioeni donated his mineral rocks collection and fossils to UNICT. In the nineteenth and twentieth century, the museum was developed even further thanks to additional collections provided by plenty of other scholars.

At present, it is possible to look at:

• Minerals from Sicilian sulphurs
• Systematic mineralogy
• Sicilian rocks
• Volcanology, with samples from Etna, the Aeolian Islands and the Vesuvian area
• Rocks used for construction purposes and valuable rocks
• Gems and amber
• Ancient tools

Information and Admission

Temporarily closed to the public