Tuesday at La Specola

Tuesday morning we hit Vio's top sight, La Specola, the oldest natural history collection in Europe. They have an exhibit on right now of what they claim is the best collection of large crystals in the world. I'm not an expert in these things, so I asked Vio's opinion on that claim, and she thought they might be right. It was an amazing mineral show.



This apatite is two feet tall. Really, all the specimens were just huge.



La Specola is also known for its zoological collection. My favorite small section was actually the insects of Italy. Butterflies, moths, ants, beetles, all kinds of cute stuff I should keep my eyes open for.



The most famous specimen is this hippopotamus. The thing is over 300 years old, it used to be a pet of the Medici family. It bears the mark of the rope around its neck. The mounting is hilarious.