Museo di Mineralogia (Mineralogy Museum), Bologna

As part of the Alma Mater Studiorum university museum system of the renowned University of Bologna, this museum boasts the most extensive collection of minerals sourced from around the globe. Initially, the museum contained approximately 9,000 exhibits, but by 1901, the collection had expanded to 48,000 pieces. Over the subsequent century, new additions continued to enrich the collection, surpassing 50,000 pieces today. The permanent exhibition showcases "only" 10,000 of these items across an 850-square-meter area, divided into several sections:

-- Systematic Mineralogy
-- Mineralogical-Petrographic Collection of Bologna (comprising approximately 1,000 types of crystals, primarily from the local province);
-- Mineralogical Collection of Italian Regions (featuring rare and valuable specimens from inactive mines across the country);
-- Tool Collection (including 19th-century instruments used in mineral studies);
-- Meteorite Collection (142 samples from fallen celestial bodies displayed in two showcases);
-- Sarti Collection (decorative stone used in construction from antiquity to 1876, totaling around 1,000 objects);
-- Ambre Collection (a valuable assortment of 400 pieces of rare Sicilian amber, with many samples containing insects);
-- Gems (rare specimens of various stones, including diamonds);
-- Igneous Rocks (900 examples of plutonic and volcanic rocks, as well as stunning phosphorescent minerals).