The Geological Museum of the Dolomites stands on the main square of Predazzo, in the Fiemme valley of Trentino, in the former house of tourism and handicraft. Founded in 1899 to publicise the geological heritage of the Dolomites, it has been run by the Comune of Predazzo together with MUSE, the science museum of Trento, since 2012, and was refurbished in summer 2015. Displays cover the history of the Dolomites, their scientific discovery and the ranges of the Fiemme and Fassa valleys; in summer the museum also runs the Dos Capèl geological path above Pampeago.
Geological Museum of the Dolomites Predazzo
In 2009 the museum was written into the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Dolomites, alongside the peaks its cases explain.
- Accessibility
- Wheelchair-accessible entrance, toilet and parking space.
- Parking
- Street parking around the square, part of it free and part paid; two car parks nearby, at 26 m and 84 m from the entrance.
- Transport
- Predazzo bus station, where all the buses call, is 280 m away; the Predazzo l.t.c stop is 336 m.
- Hours
- Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–13:00 and 16:00–19:00. Closed on Mondays.
What makes it special
The first room is a hotel salon. The museum has rebuilt an interior of the Nave d'Oro, the Predazzo inn that nineteenth-century geologists used as their base while they read these mountains. From there the building works downwards: the ground floor takes the Dolomites and their scientific discovery, the basement handles the ranges of the Fiemme and Fassa valleys one at a time — Lagorai, Latemar, Catinaccio, Marmolada-Monzoni, Sella. The holdings run to more than 12,000 geological and fossil pieces, among them the largest collection of Middle Triassic invertebrate fossils in Italy, plus a scientific library of over 4,000 volumes on geology, mineralogy and palaeontology. The captions cover the people as well as the rock, the early women climbers and botanists among them, and they are written to be followed without any training in geology.
Good to know
- Dos Capèl path: the museum's open-air extension is a 9.7 km circuit around Dos Capèl, starting at Pampeago at 1860 m, with 32 panelled stops.
- Summer only outside: the circuit is walked in summer; the rest of the year the indoor collection is the whole visit.
- Second way in: the circuit can also be joined at Passo Feudo, reached by the Ski Center Latemar cable car.
- Toilets: there are toilets inside the museum; none are mapped in the streets around the square.
Getting there
The museum sits on the main square of Predazzo, in the former house of tourism and handicraft, so however you arrive the last stretch is a walk across the square. The nearest car park is 26 m from the door, a second one 84 m. The Fiemme valley tourist information office stands 73 m away on the same square, and the bus station is close enough to walk from with luggage.
Best time to visit
Better: summer, when the Dos Capèl circuit above Pampeago is open and the museum works as the indoor half of a day that finishes on the mountain.
Avoid: the months outside summer if the path is what you came for — the circuit is a summer walk, and the collection is then the whole of the visit.
The museum also takes the weight of a wet day in the Fiemme valley, when the ridges are in cloud and there is nothing to be seen from them.
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Frequently asked questions
What is actually on show?
More than 12,000 geological and fossil items, including the largest collection of Middle Triassic invertebrate fossils in Italy. The reconstructed Nave d'Oro room is on the entrance level, the history of the Dolomites and their scientific discovery on the ground floor, and the ranges of the Fiemme and Fassa valleys — Lagorai, Latemar, Catinaccio, Marmolada-Monzoni, Sella — in the basement.Is the Dos Capèl geological path part of the museum?
Yes, it is the museum's open-air extension. The circuit runs 9.7 km around Dos Capèl, at a level of difficulty described as not high, starting from Pampeago at 1860 m with 32 stops carrying panels, pictures and descriptions. It was created in 1970, restored around 2000, and can be visited during summer; Passo Feudo, reached by the Ski Center Latemar cable car, is the other way onto it.Does it work with children?
The museum is set up for children, and the displays are built to be understood without prior knowledge: how the ranges were formed, the animals that lived here, the people who moved into these valleys.Who runs it?
Founded in 1899, the museum is run by the Comune of Predazzo together with MUSE, the science museum of Trento, which took it on in 2012. The collection and the building were reworked in a refurbishment in summer 2015.