These artifacts were arranged in 1953 by P. Egidio De Tommaso in the mezzanine of the fifteenth-century Palazzo Della Monica. In 1981, P. Tommaso Leopizzi, responsible for the Missions, had the fortunate idea of establishing the missionary center in the current premises of the Museum by transferring the material of Father Santoro and other artifacts coming from Formosa where a group of Franciscan friars from Lecce had been working for years.
At the same time, some collections (beetles, butterflies, shells,…) curated by P. De Tommaso were added. This was the beginning of the Chinese Missionary and Natural History Museum. Twenty years of life have seen transformations and additions both in the premises (expansion) and in the collections (increase of existing ones and other additions ex novo: minerals, fossils, and the herbarium).
The Museum today, arranged in 12 rooms, includes the section of Chinese Culture and that of Natural History which in turn is divided as follows: marine fauna (crustaceans, fish, madrepores, corals, echinoderms, sponges, shells), terrestrial fauna (beetles, butterflies, reptiles, mammals, birds), minerals, fossils, herbarium.
Visit info details:
Open only for guided tours:
Tue. Thu. Sat. 9:30 – 11:00; Oct./Apr. 16:00 – 18:00; May/Sept. 17:00 – 19:00
School Group visits must be arranged in advance
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