A story in the rocks...
The extensive collections of rocks and fossils in the Museum of Geology and Palaeontology have been assembled over the course of three centuries. They trace both the history of our planet, and the changes and evolution of life over geological timescales.
A tour of the museum is a journey back in time, to visit the lost exotic paradises of the Hall of Palms and the Bolca Room, and meet the intrepid characters who braved the interminable winters of the Ice Age many thousands of years ago.
The renowned collection is of immeasurable historical and scientific value; it includes a number of unique specimens that have fascinated academics for generations, and that, thanks to new investigative technologies, continue to reveal new secrets to researchers who visit the collection from all over the world. Indeed, for all that these organisms have been literally petrified, they have much to teach us, not only about the distant history of life, but also about issues of great and urgent importance today, such as climate change and the exploitation of natural resources.
Much of the museum’s resources are focused on ensuring that these remarkable specimens – which may seem durable and robust but which are frequently extremely fragile – are conserved in the most suitable manner, ensuring that they remain in their present condition for as long as possible to be admired by the public and studied by palaeontologists.
A visit to the museum is further enhanced by the splendid setting of the Palazzo Cavalli, a sixteenth-century building with a wealth of fresco decorations in the rooms of the ground floor, and an extraordinary staircase leading to a no less lavish piano nobile.

The collections will soon be open to visitors in the exhibition itinerary of the Museo della Natura e dell'Uomo

Geology and Palaeontology collections
Via Giotto, 1 – 35121 Padova
Tel. +39 049 8272086 - 2096
email: museo.paleontologia@unipd.it

Curator: Mariagabriella Fornasiero
Museum of Geology and Palaeontology
Via Giotto, 1 – 35121 Padova
Tel. +39 049 8272086 – fax +39 049 8272010
email: mariagabriella.fornasiero@unipd.it

Museum technician: Letizia Del Favero
Palazzo Cavalli, via Giotto, 1 – 35121 Padova
Tel +39 049 8272096 – fax +39 049 8272010
e-mail: letizia.delfavero@unipd.it

Scientific director of the Museo della Natura e dell'Uomo: prof. Fabrizio Nestola

Departmental delegate to the Collection: Prof. Luca Giusberti
Tel +39 049 8279183
e-mail: luca.giusberti@unipd.it

Department of Geosciences
Via G. Gradenigo 6 – 35131 Padova
Tel. +39 049 8279110 – fax +39 049 8277102
geoscienze.direzione@unipd.it

Head of Department: Prof. Nicola Surian