Museo di Speleologia Luigi Fantini - Bologna

It is situated in the Baroque keep of the Porta Lame, built in the mid-17th century in one of the city gates along the old walls, which were demolished in the early 20th century. It has an enormous mineralogical collection, most of which from the area of the Gessi Bolognesi, or gypsum formations, but it also has original samples from other Italian regions. There are also numerous examples of crystallisation, mineralisation and concretion. Several “historical” showcases present the tools used by the earliest explorers from the Gruppo Speleologico Bolognese, the city’s speleological association founded in 1932 by Luigi Fantini, a pioneer in studies of Bologna’s prehistory. The museum has been named after him. Alongside the collections, there is also a speleological library with approximately 9000 volumes and a photo archive with around 5000 pictures of caves and karst environments.