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University Museum of Earth Sciences verified

Rome, Lazio, Italy closed Visit museumarrow_right_alt

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Beryl
fullscreen
Sodalite
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Sulfur
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Imperial topaz
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Sicilian amber
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The Eagle, meteorite di tipo condrite L
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Garnet
fullscreen
Renazzo, chondrite type meteorite
fullscreen
Monte Milone, L-type chondrite meteorite
fullscreen
Diamante
fullscreen
Axinite
fullscreen
Magnesite
fullscreen
Dactyliotheca
Beryl
Sodalite
Sulfur
Imperial topaz
Sicilian amber
The Eagle, meteorite di tipo condrite L
Garnet
Renazzo, chondrite type meteorite
Monte Milone, L-type chondrite meteorite
Diamante
Axinite
Magnesite
Dactyliotheca

Other works on display

Description

There is a class of minerals, called native elements, made up of all those minerals formed by a single element; the most famous are undoubtedly gold, silver, platinum, copper and diamond (consisting only of carbon). Yet we challenge any of these famous colleagues to beat the beauty and rarity of the sulfur samples extracted in the past in Agrigento (Sicily). Sulfur is in fact a mineral belonging to the native elements, easy to find in numerous locations on a planetary scale. Most of the times the sulfur is found in dusty masses, poorly or not crystallized at all, and is extracted and marketed almost exclusively for industrial purposes (in insecticides, fungicides, explosives, etc.). Despite being so widespread, sulfur can also be found in samples of absolute mineralogical importance, in particular this mineral "has chosen" a splendid Italian region, Sicily, as a location to manifest itself in its most aesthetic specimens. Samples like this one illustrated in the photograph, with crystals characterized by an intense yellow color, excellent transparency, perfect prismatic dress and considerable size, are absolutely among the most desired and sought after in the mineralogical panorama. Acquired in 1852 by the Museum of Mineralogy, within the Spada Collection, this sample enriches, together with numerous other specimens in the Museum, the most important collection in the world of Sicilian sulfur specimens. To increase the value and prestige of minerals like this is the fact that the Sicilian sulfur mines are no longer exploited and it is therefore not possible to extract new specimens nowadays: the sulfur present in the mineralogical collection of Sapienza is the classic case of museum sample in which the aesthetic beauty is equal to the historical value.


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