From the past to the future: the new exhibition of the Mineralogical collection of the Florence University Natural History Museum and its to the “La Specola”

The Mineralogy and Lithology Collection of the Florence University Natural History Museum represents, in terms of origin, quantity and quality of the specimens owned, one the most important mineralogical collections in Italy. (Pratesi, 2012). It is enough to remember how the “Imperiale e Regio Museo di Fisica e Storia Naturale di Firenze”, inaugurated in 1775 and from which the present Museum originates was the first naturalistic museum open to the public in Europe. In the museum, a central role was assigned to the mineralogical collections which reflected not only the scientific interests of the Grand Duke itself, but also the ever-increasing importance assigned to the study of minerals (Cipriani, 2011). Its relocation within the La Specola Museum represented therefore a considerable challenge from a museologic and museographic point of view, that was overcome through an approach respectful of the characteristics of the other parts of the Specola complex (Moggi Cecchi et al., 2022). The exhibition itinerary starts with a fascinating environment in which the visitor is totally projected into a “spatial” context in which specimens of meteorites are exhibited, to remember the origins of the Earth. It continues with showcases dedicated to the development of our planet - observed from a geological point of view - during its 4.5 billion years of life. A connecting room illustrates some old instruments and the scientific figures that have characterizing the history of mineralogy at the “La Specola” museum. In the next room the fundamental concepts of the general mineralogy are presented, starting from the evolution and differentiation of terrestrial rocks and going on with the concepts of crystal growth, habit, polymorphism and isomorphism, the basic principles of crystallography and the physical properties of minerals. The systematic collection is also exhibited in the same room. Another connecting room displays the exceptional tourmaline specimens from Minas Gerais, Brasil, belonging to the former Ponis Collection and the unique pink morganite crystals, flagships of this collection. In this room are also exhibited the huge beryl and topaz specimens, well known as amazing masterpieces of the Museum. The path continues with the exhibition of the carved stones belonging to the Medici Collection and of the precious stones, with a showroom that presents many references to the historicity of the samples on display. The next room is dedicated to the exhibition of the mineralogical regional collections, first of all the worldwide famous Elban collection, with its extraordinary polychromatic tourmaline specimens and the huge ilvaite aggregate of crystals, considered one of the largest in the world. A corner of this room is dedicated to fluorescent minerals glowing in the dark. The final part of the itinerary is dedicated to the exploitation of mineral resources and the consequences of this human activity from a social and environmental point of view.