The Natural History Museum is in the Fontego dei Turchi, one of the most well-known civil buildings overlooking the Grand Canal. It houses many naturalistic and ethnographic collections, a study center on Venice lagoon and a well equipped library.
The building of the XII-XIII century was a marketplace and a commercial hub for Turkish merchants until 1838, when it was bought and restored by Venice Municipality to become the head of the Correr Museum. However, in 1922 the art and history collection were moved to Saint Mark’s Square and in the fontego just remained the naturalistic and ethnographic collections. Thus, in 1923 the Natural History Museum was established, with some precious collections of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (Venetian Institute for Science, Humanities and Arts). The museum was open to public only in 1928.
Inside the museum, numerous zoological and botanical collections: birds, mollusks, insects and the old herbariums, the L'Algarium Zanardini and a mycological collection, besides a collection of fossil plants and fishes from Bolca, the most famous Italian fossil site in the world, whose finds dated back more than 50 million years ago.
Among the 19th century collections, besides the mineralogical one, you can see also the anatomical wax models collection, the well-known paleontologist and ethnographer Giancarlo Ligabue’s collection. The museum is also office for monitoring and surveying Venice lagoon and its fauna and has also a well-stocked library.
Useful information:
Opening hours:
Everyday (closed on Monday)
- Summer schedule (from 1st April to 31st October) 10 am - 6 pm
- Winter schedule (from 1st November to 31st March): 10 am - 5 pm
Special evening openings (from 1st May to 30th September)
- every Friday and Saturday / 10 am - 8 pm
Prices:
Full ticket: 10,00 euro
Reduced ticket: 7,50 euro
Other options:
MUSEUM PASS
It includes the access also to all Civic Museum of Venice: Museums of Saint Mark's Square plus others like Ca' Rezzonico, Ca' Pesaro, Natural History Museum (check on website: https://www.visitmuve.it)
Museum Pass full: 40,00 euro
Museum Pass reduced: 22,00 euro
Contacts:
Tel: +39 041 2700303
E-mail: nat.mus.ve@comune.venezia.it
Tel. booking and ticketing: 848082000 (from Italy) / +39 041 42730892 (only from abroad)
E-mail: prenotazionivenezia@coopculture.it
For any further information, please check on website: http://www.msn.ve.it
Address: Santa Croce 1730, Fondaco dei Turchi
How to get there: water-bus, stop "S. Stae"
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