User:Lnicowiki/sandbox/The Civic Sea

The Civic Sea Museum of Tropea is located in the Santa Chiara palace in Tropea.

History
The history of the museum is connected to the recovery of the historic Santa Chiara palace and the adjoining convent of the Poor Clares. The convent was one of the first of the order in Calabria, founded in 1261 by the Ruggeri and Mumoli families. Following the earthquake of 1783, the building was converted into a private residence with the proceeds from the Cassa Sacra. Later, during the 20th century it was used as a city hospital and then as a town hall. With the recovery of the building, the ancient church was transformed into an auditorium, while the rooms that were previously used as a refectory and the kitchen, were used for the establishment of the Civic Museum of the Sea. The exhibition setup presents fossil finds and materials from the area surrounding Tropea and from the nearby coast.

The museum was inaugurated with the project "A treasure at the bottom of the sea", with the official opening linked to the photographic exhibition "The seabed of the Calabrian Tyrrhenian Sea", organized by the oceanographer Francesco Florio, curator of the Marine Biology section, based on the shots of marine biologists Fabrizio Fabbroni and Dario Viccari, aimed at enhancing the biodiversity of the biosystem of the Calabrian seas. The project continued with the paleontological exhibition "The seabed of the ancient Mediterranean", curated by the museum's scientific director, professor Giuseppe Carone. The museum immediately joined the Maritime Museum network of the Navigante Museum. The first year of activity ended with the inauguration of the anthological art exhibition of the artist Giuseppe De Filippo entitled "Water, myth, man", and with the participation in the initiative “Domenica al Museo” of the MiBAC.

After the closure imposed by the Covid pandemic, the Tropeano Paleontological Group, managing body of the museum, completed the procedures for the exhibition of all the fossil finds kept in the museum, obtaining authorization from the MiBAC in September 2022.

Description
The museum is divided into two main sections: marine paleontology and marine biology. The four rooms that can be visited are located on the ground floor and have no architectural barriers.

In room A there is the ticket office and an exhibition area with marine finds dedicated to selacians, where it is possible to see a collection with teeth from Otodus megalodon and Carcharodon carcharias, a chewing apparatus from Myliobatis and vertebrae from Isuridae from 7 million years ago;

Room B containes the marine biology collections divided into shells, echinoids and marine vertebrates from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea and from the Costa degli Dei in particular, as well as one of the most complete collections in the world of Miocene Clypeaster, as well as the paratypes of the Amphiope caronei species, named after the paleontologist Carone, scientific director of the museum;

Room C is meant for the collection of Marine Paleontology, it also includes fossil finds of shells, echinids and marine vertebrates from the Tortonian and Calabrian, as well as large marine mammals: in fact, various finds of Metaxytherium are on display (including one of the most complete skeletons in the world of the M. Serresii species), a series of 9 teeth belonging to the same organism of Scaldicetus sp. and a skeleton of a Miocene whale belonging to the Heterocetus guiscardii species;

Room D is dedicated to continental mammals found in a marine stratigraphic context (the result of a river deposit dragged to the mouth). The collection is made of remains of Pichermian fauna including ancestors of current horses, rhinoceroses, gazelles, elephants and giraffes. Temporary exhibitions are also hosted in the room.

The thematic library, currently under construction, houses the book collection of the Tropean Paleontological Group and houses volumes on the sea, paleontology, malacology and the history of Calabria. The place also containes a series of works of art donated to the Tropean Paleontological Group in view of the establishment of a sea art gallery. It brings to the warehouse, the courtyard meant for small events and the management of the museum. The courtyard hosts cultural initiatives, meetings, readings, book presentations.