The museum, born from the division of the Cabinet of Sciences of the University initiated by Carlo Farini in 1860, has been located at its current site – within the University Institute of Zoology – since 1933. The displayed specimens, about eight thousand including vertebrates and invertebrates, partly come from the collections of Aldrovandi, Cospi, and Marsili, and partly relate to the various stages of the museum’s expansion. The exhibition, enriched by dioramas, explores particular themes (national parks, hunting, and extinct or endangered animals).
It is, both in terms of extensive surface area and collections exhibited and preserved, one of the most important zoological museums in Italy. Introduced by a visit to the Abruzzo and Gran Paradiso national parks through dioramas (among the first conceived nationally), the exhibition path offers a series of thematic sections. Particularly interesting are those dedicated respectively to hunting (illustrated both through the techniques of capture and recognition of tracks, skin processing, and other related activities, as well as by the presence of “trophies”) and to extinct or endangered animals. No less important is the section illustrating the progress of organizational complexity in various animal groups.
The repertoire of specimens present in the ornithological sector of the museum is very vast. The Zootechnics Institute, located a short distance from the museum, houses along the entrance corridor three display cases with taxidermied specimens of farmed birds, poultry, pigeons, and some artifacts and models related to rabbit breeding. The entomological and malacological collections have been reorganized and expanded.
