The Rock and Mineral Room
In this room you can discover the composition of the earth’s crust, its main geodynamic movements and the genesis of rocks. A splendid variety of minerals from all over the world are displayed with descriptions of their origins, crystal structures and chemical classification. The space dedicated to fluorescent minerals is particularly suggestive.
Sulphur, the protagonist
The work of the miners in the mine was incessant, from the extraction of the sulphurous rock up to obtaining the “pane di zolfo” or “loaf of sulphur”, bars made through the process of solidifying liquid sulphur in a rectangular mould. Three shifts of workers insured twenty four hours of productivity, daily. Teams of miners, timberers, barrow-men and road sweepers filled the hundreds of galleries, facing the unknown of the subsurface up to sixty metres under sea level. Lamps, masks and tools for excavating were indispensable instruments for the miners. The museum has an ample collection of lamps, from terracotta lights of the Roman period to the more modern oil lamps, carbide lamps, security lamps as well as battery powered lamps. From the depths of the subsoil, miners and minerals resurfaced by way of shafts and inclines to the external site, where the sulphur would be separated from the rock in a smelting plant (calcheroni and Gill ovens).
The Workshops
Inside the Certino complex, the workshops and joinery were situated between the power station and the compressor room, adjacent to the lamp deposit and the winch room. Fundamental to the running of the site, the mechanical workshop employed sixty specialised mechanics who were in charge of repairing equipment and maintaining the external and internal technological installations.
The Mine
The museum allows you to experience a miner’s journey in a reconstruction of the underground galleries. The trip in the artificial mine, an essential part of the museum tour, permits you to walk through the very environments that demonstrate the evolution of the mining activity in Perticara from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
Collection of antique scientific instruments
Here you can admire a precious collection of antique scientific instruments used for land and environmental surveys. Compasses, graphometers, inclinometers, plane tables, theodolites, anemometers, tacheometers and spirit levels are displayed in a sequence reflecting man’s scientific progress in the development of instruments of orientation and measurement. The collection contains items dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
Library
The library, part of the Romagna and San Marino Library Database, is mainly oriented towards geological, mineralogical and mining publications as well as history books of national and international importance. Of particular value are the antique editions of treatises on the art of mining from the mid 16th century.
The Archives
The archives contain prominent technical and administrative documentation and serve as an important historical research tool relative to the last two centuries.
The Conference Room and The Territory Room
The size and architectural elegance of the conference room make it a perfect location for hosting exhibitions, conferences and events independent from those of the museum.
The territory room shows the relationship between the museum and its surroundings. The specimens, photographs and documents gathered here identify the evolution of the mining activity and the human development from the first prehistoric settlements to the industrial era, allowing us to directly analyse the territory, rich with testimonials and precious singularities.
Bookshop
On sale in the museum bookshop is a vast choice of books and publications dedicated to the activity of the Perticara mine and the local history of the town, as well as a large selection of minerals and souvenirs of the museum.
