Founded by Gaetano Gandolfi in 1814, it has been located in its current premises since 1936 and houses interesting 19th-century preparations mainly made by Antonio Alessandrini and Sebastiano Richiardi.
Already arranged by Ercole Giacomini in the 1930s, it was reorganized starting in 1973 with the addition of new display cases and a didactic-scientific exhibition route. In addition to numerous vertebrate skeletons, including the notable sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, preparations related to the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and urogenital systems are worth mentioning.
For educational activities, models and mock-ups are available. It also offers a tactile path for the differently-abled, with specimens accompanied by Braille captions.
