FAUNA AND LAKE ENVIRONMENT

A RICH AND VARIEGATED COLLECTION TO DISCOVER THE TERRITORY

The Scanagatta Ornithological Museum in Varenna is home to a collection of high scientific and cultural value: made up of over 800 specimens of birds and mammals and enriched by a valuable terrestrial and freshwater malacological collection, it represents an important testimony of the fauna the area hosted since the 1950s.

The Museum was born as a private collection of the local teacher Luigi Scanagatta, a passionate ornithologist, malacologist, and botanist. It was opened to the public in 1962, thanks to an agreement with the Pro Loco and its president Ugo Maloberti and in 1981 it became a Civic Museum.

Through continuous additions to the collection and updates of the exhibition itinerary, the Museum has been able to renew itself and remain modern, also thanks to collaborations with the Università del Piemonte Orientale and with CROS Varenna, a local ornithological association.

Download brochure: Museo Civico di ornitologia e scienze naturali L. Scanagatta

The exhibition itinerary

The Museum develops on two levels.

On the lower floor, there are the main habitats that can be found around Varenna and the birds that occur there. As in a walk, you start from the plain, between lakes, rivers, and cities, and climb the side of a mountain, up to the highest peaks. A large showcase shows the most fascinating predators that inhabit the area.

On the upper floor are shown several aspects of the biology and the ecology of birds, such as the diet, the plumage, or the migrations. The itinerary ends with the malacological collection, a rarity of its kind. The showcases are accompanied by exhaustive texts in Italian and English, which allow visitors from all Countries to walk through the Museum on their own.

Visit the Museum!

Alone or in a group, with a guide or on your own, a visit to the Scanagatta Ornithological Museum is the best way to immerse yourself in Nature and increase your knowledge. Come and discover Lake Como and its inhabitants! You will look at the world with renewed fascination and wonder.

For further information, at the Museum you can purchase the volume “The Birds of the Provinces of Como and Lecco”, an annotated checklist of the species which populate Varenna and its surroundings. Accompanied by splendid images and texts in Italian and English, the book combines scientific rigor with an informative slant and cannot be missing from the shelves of any nature lover.

Opening time and Information

The museum can be visited during the opening hours of the Infopoint.

Where are we

Varenna, Via IV Novembre, 7
You can enter the museum via the Infopoint Varenna Turismo’s Entrance.

Entrance through the Infopoint Varenna Turismo office.

Tickets

Full price – 3 €
Free admission – From 0 to 17 years old / Varenna local resident / Tourist guides

Useful links

• Video presentation of the Museum (Italian speaking)
  courtesy of Roberto Brembilla and Gaia Bazzi
• Museum’s Facebook page
• C.R.O.S. Varenna
  Centro Ricerche Ornitologiche Scanagatta website: local association of ornithology and bird-watching enthusiasts.
• Birds of the Provinces of Como and Lecco (2020)
  Book description and PDF Edition.

Contacts

InfoPoint Varenna Turismo
T +39 350 1573202
M infopoint@varennaturismo.com