These artifacts were arranged in 1953 by P. Egidio De Tommaso in the mezzanine of the sixteenth-century Palazzo Della Monica. In 1981 P. Tommaso Leopizzi, responsible for the Missions, had the fortunate idea to establish the missionary center in the current premises of the Museum by transferring the material of Father Santoro and other artifacts from Formosa, where for years a group of Franciscan friars from Lecce had been working.
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 Chinese Culture section and the Natural History section, further divided as follows: marine fauna (crustaceans, fish, madrepores, corals, echinoderms, poriferans, shells), terrestrial fauna (beetles, butterflies, reptiles, mammals, birds), minerals, fossils, herbarium.
Detailed visit info:
Open only for guided tours:
Tues. Thurs. Sat. 9:30 – 11:00; Oct./Apr. 16:00 – 18:00; May/Sept. 17:00 – 19:00
Visits by School Groups must be arranged in advance
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