If you want to see an elephant in the Upper Valdarno, you must stop at the Museo Paleontologico di Montevarchi!

Since 1829, the Museum has been exhibiting fossils almost exclusively from the area, a fossiliferous basin of international importance, housed in the former medieval Franciscan convent.

From the fifteenth-century cloister, you enter the Accademia Valdarnese del Poggio, which since 1805 has been a treasure trove of culture, history, memories, books, and fossils.

Passing through the Great Hall, where you are surrounded by thousands of ancient books, you enter the Museum, which allows us to take a 3 million-year journey through time, passing through rainy climates, lacustrine areas, savannas, and steppes.

You can encounter large mammals such as mastodons, southern elephants, equids similar to zebras, large felines close to saber-toothed tigers, hyenas, giant deer, until you reach the presence of prehistoric man who, with his weapons, 200 thousand years ago, fought and butchered ancient elephants.

The Archaeological Section complements the paleontological path and tells us about the presence of man in the area during the Etruscan-Roman period.