Museo di scienze naturali dell’ITG “Filippo Parlatore”, Palermo

The Museum of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies was organized between 1992 and 1996, using artifacts, all dating from the late 19th century to the first half of this century, which were recovered from the ruins of the glorious Agrarian Cabinet, an asset of the Institute. The recovery work involved, under the direction of Prof. A. Casabona, the students, who, experimenting with growing interest in the “game” of “unearthing,” “recovery,” and “conservation restoration,” restored dignity to a historical testimony destined for degradation and returned this heritage to the school and local community. The “restored” materials have considerable historical and cultural interest and constitute evidence of the evolution of agricultural technologies. They include:

educational models (some awarded at the 1880 Melbourne world exhibition);

operating and industrial machines;

collections of seeds and fruits;

various woody essences in sectioned trunks;

herbariums, ancient agricultural texts, and illustrative maps;

entomological and educational-illustrative boxes of some agricultural and industrial production processes;

ancient educational models of hill, mountain, and plain land arrangements, of tree plantations with different training systems.