We discovered the Natural History Museum in Siena by accident when we were on our way to the Botanic Garden and just had to go in; entry is by donation. It is absolutely amazing – like the Natural History Museum in London used to be years ago, but much smaller.
The Natural History Museum of the Accademia dei Fisiocritici is consdered to be one of the oldest and most important science museums in Tuscany; Fisiocritici means ‘judges of nature’. It’s in Piazetta Silvio Gigli and housed in a former monastery. It’s organised into four sections in a layout much the same as it was in the 19th century – Anatomical, Botanical, Geological and Zoological. A 15 metre long fin whale skeleton in the inner courtyard has become the museum’s emblem. There are many specimens of stuffed and mounted vertebrates as well as shells and insects in the Zoological section, all in beautiful glass and wood display cupboards that line many of the corridors. There are two floors, a large basement and a mezzanine level. There’s an extensive collection of minerals and fossils. The Anatomical Section has a lot of information on and scientific papers by Paolo Mascagini, a Scientist who lived at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.
My particular favourites in the museum were displays of terracotta fungi on the ground floor; they were so intricate and lifelike and there was even a terracotta basket fungus that looked just like a real one we’d seen under some trees near the ancient city of Cosa in Ansdonia a couple of days earlier. There are collections of measuring instruments, malformed animals (not for the squeamish) and other curiosities, plus a library and a historical archive.
Descending into the basement we discovered many interesting displays – archaeological finds including Estruscan cinerary urns that have been set up to represent an Etruscan tomb plus more fossils. Out in the courtyard we saw the 15 metre skeleton of a whale which has become the museum’s emblem. It was really quiet and cool in the museum and we saw hardly any visitors while we were walking around, although there were meetings or teaching taking place in some of the ground floor rooms. A brilliant museum and well worth a visit by anyone interested in natural history.
