Alto Adige Natural Science Museum

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The Alto Adige Natural Science Museum, situated in the ancient administrative offices of Maximilian I in Bolzano, illustrates the genesis and characteristics of typical landscapes in the Alto Adige area. The feather in the cap is the large 9,000-litre coral reef and Nautilus aquariums. These latter, considered as “living fossils” have remained virtually unchanged for millions of years thanks to their particular biological properties.

In the first half of the exhibition, the geological evolution of four typical landscapes of the Alto Adige area are displayed, or rather the Atesina Porphyric Platform, of the Eastern Alps, valleys and the Dolomites: traces that date back to over 300 million years ago, bearing witness to the complex geological development of our landscape.

Instead, in the second part of our permanent exhibition, four natural environments, typical of the Alto Adige area are displayed, or rather, the Alps and the alpine pastures, the woods, the mid-mountain areas and the valley bottoms.

In its research, the Alto Adige Natural Science Museum focuses especially on the study of biodiversities in the Alto Adige area, attempting to identify the wealth of both current and past local animal and plant species. Therefore, inventories of extremely remote geological areas are also completed.

Moreover, since 2005, the Museum has collaborated with the Bletterbach Geopark, providing scientific support and assistance in the scientific training of the Geopark guides. The involvement of the Alto Adige Natural Science Museum in this project is therefore based on the experience in palaeontological and geological research in the Dolomites and Carnia areas, the experience in the field of Geopark guide training as well as the 10-year collaboration with the Friuli Natural History Museum within the context of research in current and fossil biodiversity.