Museum of Natural History of the Mediterranean
The Natural History Museum of the Mediterranean is not a popular place to visit for tourists traveling in Italy. Many people are simply unfamiliar with it (rare guidebooks talk about this exhibition); others are not very interested in it in terms of exhibits. The museum is located in Livorno, a port city located on the west coast of Tuscany. The port is famous, first of all, for its unusual seafood dishes, ancient fortifications and a huge parking lot for cruise ships.
History of creation
The founding of the Natural History Museum of the Mediterranean is considered to be 1929. During World War II, the collection was lost and was reassembled at the local Aquarium. But as the number of exhibits grew, he was given a place in the premises of Henderson’s ancient villa. The building was built in the 18th century; it previously belonged to a member of the local British community, and due to the lack of heirs, it went to the city. This happened in 1934, but for a long time the building did not find its purpose.
Brief description
The collection of the Museum of Natural History of the Mediterranean can hardly be called particularly impressive; it occupies only five halls. The museum houses representatives of mammals, birds and insects living in the Mediterranean. Here you can also see archaeological finds and mineral collections. This is an ordinary museum in not the largest city. Of particular interest is the fifth hall, opened in 2009 and demonstrating the evolution of the defense mechanisms of representatives of the Fauna kingdom from ancient times to the present day. A separate room houses a scientific library, where more than 5,500 scientific books and periodicals find a home. There is a functioning meteorological station and planetarium in the garden
Features
The Natural History Museum of the Mediterranean continues to develop. At the beginning of the 21st century, a multifunctional educational center, equipped with fairly modern laboratories, began operating here. Six years later, a genetic bank was opened to store the plasma of the main inhabitants of the Mediterranean Sea. By the way, the collected genetic material is periodically sent to European banks of this type and receives new samples from them.
Next to the Museum of Natural History of the Mediterranean, at the beginning of the last century, a nice park was built, which was able to survive the 20th century and retained the ancient charm of a hexagonal fountain and a stone grotto with small arches. Today, a small botanical garden has been created in the park, where those interested can get acquainted with the most common trees and shrubs of this part of Italy. The cost of visiting the Natural History Museum of the Mediterranean depends on what the tourist wants to see, so there is an opportunity to save on entrance fees by choosing just a couple of rooms to explore.
