ORIGINS

The Paleontology collection draws its origin from the paleontological section of the Cabinet of Natural History, whose first core collection dates back to 1768. The history of the Cabinet, and in particular of the paleontological collections, is linked not only to the historical events that marked the city, but also to the evolution of university teaching.
Under the direction of Giuseppe Monici, between 1840 and 1847, the first nucleus of the paleontological section was established in the Cabinet of Natural History with important acquisitions, such as the collection of fossil fishes from the Eocene of Bolca.
Under the direction of Pellegrino Strobel (1859-1895), the reorganization phase of the paleontological section began, and in 1874 the first division of the Museum of Natural History into two distinct sections took place: zoological and mineralogical-geological, derived from the division of the same chairs. In 1895, with the separation of the university chairs of mineralogy and geology, the mineralogical-geological section of the museum was divided into the Geological Museum and the Mineralogical Museum.
Under the direction of Sergio Venzo, in the second half of the 1950s, the Geological Museum was transferred from the University headquarters to the Institute of Geology in Via D’Azeglio, changing its name to “Museo Paleontologico Parmense.”