The Natural History Museum is in the Fontego dei Turchi, one of the most well-known civil buildings overlooking the Grand Canal. It houses many naturalistic and ethnographic collections, a study center on Venice lagoon and a well equipped library.
The building of the XII-XIII century was a marketplace and a commercial hub for Turkish merchants until 1838, when it was bought and restored by Venice Municipality to become the head of the Correr Museum. However, in 1922 the art and history collection were moved to Saint Mark’s Square and in the fontego just remained the naturalistic and ethnographic collections. Thus, in 1923 the Natural History Museum was established, with some precious collections of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (Venetian Institute for Science, Humanities and Arts). The museum was open to public only in 1928.
Inside the museum, numerous zoological and botanical collections: birds, mollusks, insects and the old herbariums, the L'Algarium Zanardini and a mycological collection, besides a collection of fossil plants and fishes from Bolca, the most famous Italian fossil site in the world, whose finds dated back more than 50 million years ago.
Among the 19th century collections, besides the mineralogical one, you can see also the anatomical wax models collection, the well-known paleontologist and ethnographer Giancarlo Ligabue’s collection. The museum is also office for monitoring and surveying Venice lagoon and its fauna and has also a well-stocked library.
Useful information:
Address: Santa Croce 1730, Fondaco dei Turchi
Opening hours:
From November 1st to May 31st: from Tuesday to Friday: 9 am – 5 pm (last admission 4.30 pm)
Saturday and Sunday: 10.30 am – 5 pm (last admission 4.30 pm)
From June 1st to October 31st: from Tuesday to Friday: 10 am – 6 pm (last admission 5.30 pm)
Saturday and Sunday: 10.30 am – 6 pm (last admission 5.30 pm)
Closed on Monday, December 25th, January 1st, May 1st
Price:
Full price ticket: € 8
Ticket reduced price: € 5,50 (Children aged from 6 to 14; students aged from 15 to 25; coordinators (max. 2) for groups of children or students (min. 10); citizens over 65; staff of the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo (MiBACT); holders of the Rolling Venice Card; FAI members)
Free entrance: Venetian citizens and residents; children aged from 0 to 5; disabled people with helper; authorized guides and interpreters accompanying groups or individual visitors; for groups of at least 15 people, 1 free entrance (only with prior booking); accompanying teachers of school groups (up to 2 teachers per group); ICOM members; MUVE ordinary partners; Servizio Civile volunteers; MUVE Friend Card holders, holders of “The Cultivist” card (plus three guests).
School Offer: 4,00 euros per person (valid for entrance from September 1st to March 15th): for students of all schools levels accompanied by their teachers; a list of the students’ names must be provided by the school, valid also for up to two people accompanying the group.
Starting from January 1st, 2015, Family Offer: reduced ticket for all family members, for families of two adults and at least one child (aged 6 to 14).
Contacts:
Phone: +39 041 2750206
Fax: +39 041 721000
E-mail: nat.mus.ve@comune.venezia.it
Website: http://www.msn.ve.it
How to get there: ferry boat stop "S. Stae"
