The Paleontological Museum of Montevarchi is certainly one of the most important and interesting museums in the Upper Valdarno and an important point of study on the past of our territory. It collects in its rooms over 1,600 finds including rocks, plant fossils, animals and artifacts created by man, found within the Valdarno area.

The Paleontological Museum is also enriched by the presence of the Library of the Accademia Valdarnese del Poggio, originally from Figline Valdarno and later moved to Montevarchi. A library enriched by an Audio Library that boasts a collection of over ten thousand vinyl records of any genre.

The Museum was born with a small collection of finds preserved by the Vallombrosan monk Father Molinari, at the Convent of the Friars Minor in Figline Valdarno. In 1819 the collection, which had grown in size (and enriched by a first collection of books), was definitively transferred to Montevarchi together with the Academy, where it was studied by Georges Cuvier, a French naturalist, inventor of modern paleontology. A plaque at the entrance of the Museum is dedicated to him.

 

The collection grew considerably in the 1900s and, following the drafting of a meticulous inventory, they began to promote the Museum within the Valdarno area. This commitment has brought thousands of visitors to the museum and in 2014 a major restoration was carried out on the museum’s structure, expanding the services offered to visitors, with a focus on schools.

Upon entering the Museum, you are greeted by a magnificent mammoth skeleton, nicknamed “Gastone”, complete with its two characteristic tusks. In the same room, there is also a well-stocked bookshop with books about the Museum and the entire Valdarno area in general.

The Paleontological Museum is then spread over two floors, and takes the visitor on a journey dedicated to the history of the Valdarno, with the finds being placed within respective environmental reconstructions. The journey begins about 3 million years ago, with a fauna that lived in a humid climate, occupied by tall sequoias, and continues up to the first presence of man, with his tools and habits, passing through the changes in flora and fauna due to the glaciations.

Man also plays an important role within the museum, with remains of skeletons and skulls, as well as tools and other lithic artifacts. The latest finds, in the last room of the museum, were discovered in 2001 in the Campitello Quarry (Bucine), these are those of a female elephant and hunting tools used by man.

A visit to the Paleontological Museum of Montevarchi is highly recommended for the important heritage of Valdarno history that is hidden within it.

Opening hours of the Montevarchi Museum:

Winter (1 September – 31 May):
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 10:00-13:00 / 15:00-18:00 (until 19:00 on the fourth Sunday of the month)

Summer (1 June – 31 August):
Thursday: 10:00-19:00
Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 10:00-13:00 / 16:00-19:00