On Friday 25 September, to mark Researchers’ Night, Parma’s historic centre was transformed, for one afternoon, into a veritable open-air museum.

The route, which started at Piazza Ghiaia and continued to the MUST, the Cathedral and some of the city’s most beautiful churches, took participants on a journey of discovery to uncover a palaeontological heritage hidden within the stones and marble of the buildings and urban spaces.

 

The highlight of the “FOSSIL HUNTING! – Urban Palaeontology in the City of Parma” initiative was a real fossil hunt, led by experts from MUST.
Children, families and enthusiasts learnt to recognise the traces of animals that lived millions of years ago, now preserved in the stone materials we pass by, walk on or brush against every day without realising it.
The initiative attracted an extraordinary turnout and offered visitors an unusual perspective on the city, demonstrating how natural history and geology are an integral part of the heritage that surrounds us and of our daily experience.
It was an opportunity to discover that, sometimes, to observe the traces of the past, you don’t need to go far: you just need to look more closely at what is right before your eyes.

Thank you to all the participants for the enthusiasm and curiosity with which they took part in the research!