Museo Naturalistico Francesco Mina' Palumbo

FRANCESCO MINA 'PALUMBO Born in Castelbuono March 10, 1814. Son of workman, he spends his childhood in Castelbuono and there receives the first lessons. He was the son of Antonio carpenter by trade and Teresa Palumbo. The first of five children. The last Giovanna will be the only one to survive and married Nunzio Morici. He studied medicine at the Royal University of Palermo. Here along with Agostino Todaro, Giuseppe Inzenga, Philip Parlatore, Enrico Piraino, Pietro Calcara and other talented scholars, attending school of botany Vincenzo Tineo at the Botanical Garden and other distinguished scholars as also very close. In 1834 he obtained a degree in Medicine and, the following year he moved to Naples, where he graduated. In the capital of the Kingdom knows the botanical Gussone Giovanni and Guglielmo Gasparrini, Oronzio and Achille Costa and other talented scholars from whom he learned the scientific innovations. In Neapolitan period acquires taxidermic technique and the iconographic. In 1835 performs the illustrations for the Kingdom of Naples mushrooms, rare work of Vincenzo Briganti published posthumously by his son Francesco. It falls in Castelbuono shortly after exercising the medical profession led. At the same time he began his work as a naturalist which aims to study and make known the heritage of the Madonie, then still unknown. In 1839, his great friend Philip Parlatore, future founder of the herbarium center of Florence, visiting the Madonie from the side of Castelbuono along with Carlo Heldreich and immediately to Naples for France and Florence. In this period you closer and closer to nature studies and fù in this period that he began to produce his plates iconographic whose implementation was encouraged by Vincenzo Tineo, his first teacher. Not having had children by his wife, Vicenta Marguglio, does he adopt her niece, Marietta Marguglio that one day marry Michele Morici, son of the sister of Mina Palumbo, Juanita and Morici Nunzio. They will be the testamentary heirs of the scientist who will go out March 12, 1899. His publications are more than 800, ranging from Botany to Zoology from all'Entnoantropologia Medicine, Geology from the Meteorology. The collections on display at the Museum include: The herbarium with over 1700 dried The entomological collection The Paleontological collection The ethno-anthropological collection The malacological collection Scientist Library The Museum over the years has been enriched of local naturalists as collections The ornithological collection donated by A. Venchiarutti Grandson S.Biondo The entomological collection of M.Bellavista The entomological boxes and zoological of F.Toscano The malacological collection F.Liberti The ornithological collection Orlando. Together with the exhibition feature the Museum carries out numerous popular science activities including meetings, courses, conferences, exhibitions, collaboration with universities and other institutions culturali.Al Museum collaborate numerous volunteers and voluntary associations are linked some natural many of them having offices in or Castelbuono in the Madonie. The Museum is also included in MUSEA network. E 'it equipped with innovative computerized media through QR code systems and a multimedia totems. At the ticket office sells naturalistic books and gadgets.