Type:

Luoghi della cultura; Ente/Istituzione

Category:

Museums of natural history and natural sciences

The "Fulvio Grazioli" mineral exhibition is located in the rooms of the historic Palazzo Martinengo, by courtesy of Sondrio Town Council and of the Grazioli family and thanks to the cooperation of the Valtellina Institute of Mineralogy (IVM). Fulvio Grazioli (1913-1991) was a teacher who put together one of the richest and most complete local collections now existing in Italy, consisting of nearly 12,000 specimens collected in the Valmalenco and in other areas of the Province of Sondrio. His interest in minerals began in 1925 when he became acquainted with Pietro Sigismund, a pioneer in the mineralogy of the Province. Grazioli discovered 12 new areas of mineralogical importance in Valmalenco and 31 mineral species, previously unknown in the valley, some of them of great scientific interest. Other important minerals from the Province, from the Bombardieri Foundation, the Provincial Administration of Sondrio and the IVM Collections, have subsequently been added to the exhibition.