FAVARA

ORNITHOLOGIC MUSEUM "Barone A. Mendola"

PIAZZA Cavour TEL. 092234233 VISITING HOURS: Mon to Sat: 9 am -1 pm; Tue and Thu: 4 pm - 7 pm FREE ADMISSION

The museum is situated on the second floor of the town-library. The collection is private and has been created by baron A. Mendola.This wonderful collection was given to the town of Favara, after baron's death, by his daughter Angelina for the setting up of a public museum dedicated to her father' s memory, interpreting the educational intent and the aesthetic pleasure intent which inspired collecting on the baron, on condition that it was transferred to the town center in order to be benefitable from all of the citizens. Nowadays, going into the museum, what attract visitor' s attention are very beautiful stuffed animals which are about 70 % of the whole collection. It is important to say that Favara' s Museum, as far as concern this kind, is the only one in province of Agrigento to have these specimens. Among the animals we can admire specimens of kite, swan, hawk, pheasant and a big eagle. Very nice to see is a little shark about 70 cm long. Some mollusks enrich this collection, among which gasteropods and lamellibranchia. We also can see minerals, among which sulfur and coal ones and different qualities of marble and granite. Another glass-case is reserved to different kinds of coral. Walking along the saloon we can see a xix-century globe, molds of ancient coins, astronomic instruments, African tools and objects as bows, arrows and lances which are from the end of xix and the first years of xx century. Very interesting are also old edition of books, bound with care by a young man to whom the baron paid a class in Naples in order to learn to staff with straw animals and restore books (in 1906 the baron owned more than 15000 volumes). They are at the first floor of the library.