Earth sciences

The exhibition itinerary begins with an overview of the geography, morphology (whose complex articulation is illustrated in a model) and climatology of the province of Sondrio. Two display cases offer descriptions of the shape of the landscape, explaining its glacial or fluvial origins, via plastic models. There are also examples of geological "phenomena" (the folds in a metamorphic rock, a fault mirror, a pegmatite strand and mud cracks).

To understand the formation of the Alps, the themes of the second room are the internal structure of the Earth and plate tectonics. These offer a theory, which explains how the Alpine chain originated from the clash between European and African plates. Geological maps and sections also show the complexity of the Alps in its central section.

The last display cases present a general introduction to rocks and minerals, of which the province of Sondrio is particularly rich, as evidenced by the third room in which 80 samples of rocks and over 200 of minerals are exhibited, grouped according to age formation or transformation, from the most recent to the oldest.

Finally, three display cases house large specimens, hard stones and gems from the province of Sondrio and fossils, which features a branch of Cassinisia Orobica as its centrepiece.