Museo dei fossili del Monte San Giorgio

Remodeled and expanded by the Ticinese architect Mario Botta, the Museum of fossils from Monte San Giorgio was inaugurated the 13th of october of 2012. The structure exhibits a selection of fossilized animals and plants from the unique UNESCO World Heritage Site of Monte San Giorgio.

The 2.5-meter long reconstruction of the saurian Ticinosuchus welcomes visitors to the fossil museum in the center of the village of Meride. Spread over four floors, the large variety of animals that lived 245 to 180 million years ago in the erstwhile sea and on the coast of southern Ticino are exhibited. Illustrations and models explain to the public the long extinct world whose fossils have been excavated, prepared and scientifically described by Swiss and Italian experts since 1850.