The Museo Civico di Rovereto is one of the oldest museums in Italy and the beating heart of the civic, cultural and economic life of the city. Founded in 1851 as a private company, the museum of Rovereto today preserves a rich heritage ranging from archaeology to natural sciences, up to new technologies, and is a meeting place, activities and events for young and old. The museum is divided into two locations: one in Palazzo Parolari, the main and administrative headquarters, where the Planetarium, the "Giovanni and Ruggero De Cobelli" Library, the "Fortunato Zeni" Conference Room and the Lego Education Innovation Studio are also located; and the other in Palazzi Alberti Poja where the OpenLab is located.
What to see at the Civic Museum of Rovereto
The Civic Museum of Rovereto is divided into seven sections: Archaeology, Historical-artistic section, Astronomy, Botany, Zoology, Numismatics, Earth Science. In the archaeology section you can admire local artefacts from different eras and the precious Magna Grecia collection of the Rovereto archaeologist Paolo Orsi. The historical-artistic section has a vast and composite heritage, ranging from sculpture to the art of textiles and embroidery.
The astronomy section of the Rovereto museum features an extraordinary Planetarium with a 6-metre dome and the Astronomical Observatory located on Monte Zugna at an altitude of 1620 metres. The botanical section has a herbarium of 41,671 specimens, while the zoological section has the largest ornithological and entomological collections in Trentino.
The rich collection of Greek, Roman and medieval coins in the numismatics section is also particularly interesting, as is the area of the museum dedicated to earth sciences.
The Civic Museum of Rovereto has always offered visitors a rich programme of activities: historical and artistic tours in the city, nature trails in Trentino, a visit to the paleontological site "Orme dei Dinosauri" at Lavini di Marco, one of the most important in Europe, and animation and robotics-physics workshops. It is precisely because of robotics and new technologies that the museum is the main reference point for education and training. In 2010, the Lego Education Centre was inaugurated inside the museum, a space in which young and old can approach the world of robotics in an active and fun way.
The importance of the museum in Rovereto on a European level in terms of scientific documentary festivals is also worth mentioning: in fact, the FIRST® LEGO® League Italia, the world competition for successive qualifications in science and robotics for 9 to 16 year olds, the International Archaeological Film Festival and the Festivalmeteorologia take place here.
