San Gimignano Ornithological Museum

The ornithological museum of San Gimignano is housed in the 16th-century former church of San Francesco. It exhibits part of the extensive collection that the city received as a gift in the 1920s from the Marquise Marianna Panciatichi Ximenes of Aragon Paolucci.

The exhibition’s scientific aspects were curated by the Department of Environmental Biology of the University of Siena. Around 370 specimens of both rare and endangered birds that are present both in Italy and in the rest of Europe are displayed. The first collection contained more than 1200 specimens that were sourced from the estate of Monte. Between 1800 and 1900, nets were set up to catch birds. Riccardo Magnelli was entrusted with embalming the animals, having also been the embalmer at the Museo della Specola in Florence.

Accessibility information: regione.toscana.it