Dinosaurs

The Dinosaurs exhibition and its courtyard are part of the same itinerary that presents some different aspects of this fascinating group.

The replica of Carnotaurus sastrei, once part of this exhibition, has been moved to the honour courtyard due to roof repair works. The large skeleton of the Carnotaurus is a reproduction identical to the original fossil found in Argentina, where this dinosaur lived about 70 million years ago.

In the back part of the dinosaurs’ courtyard is the reconstruction of a Saltasaurus nesting plain with these six-meter-long dinosaurs represented in the act of defending their nests from predators. Saltasaurus loricatus lived in large herds in South America about 80 million years ago.

From the courtyard, the itinerary enters the room where the complete process from the discovery of a fossil, through its paleontological restoration to its exhibition in the museum is presented. It is thus possible to follow the story of a fossil from the moment of its discovery, through the digging, recovery and restoration phases to its duplication with the construction of the mold.
The same dinosaur that we see in the excavation is mounted in a life position on the other side of the room: it is a Kritosaurus, belonging to the group of duck-billed dinosaurs and witness of the great extinction occurred 66 million of years ago.