Museo Paleontologico Territoriale dell'Astigiano

The Museum is housed in the "Palazzo del Michelerio," originally a monastery dating back to the mid-16th century and currently owned by the Azienda Territoriale della Casa di Asti. The Museum includes a first section displaying fossil skeletal remains of Asti cetaceans, both mysticetes (whales) and odontocetes (dolphins), dating back to the Pliocene era (between 5 and 2 million years ago), when the entire Po Valley was covered by the sea. Some of these finds are very important, such as the fin whale of Valmontasca (Vigliano d'Asti), the Whale of Portacomaro, the "Tersilla" whale of S. Marzanotto d'Asti, and the delphinids of Belangero and Settime. A second itinerary, located on the mezzanine level, covers general and territorial paleontology, describing the geological periods between the Miocene and the Pliocene, with an overview of the geological events of the last 25 million years.