"Alfeo Ricci" Elba minerals collection

The "Alfeo Ricci" personal collection of Elba minerals, made up by Alfeo Ricci himself and later enlarged by his heirs, shows a wide variety of minerals from different areas of the Island of Elba.

The exhibition includes The Island of Elba not unlike an open air mineral museum, with samples found above all in the iron mines in the eastern part of Elba and also from the pegmatic veins of Monte Capanne, including several very rare samples.

Alfeo Ricci,was a self taught, versatile genius who dedicated his time to collecting minerals and studying geology. From the years 1930 to 1960, as well as collecting and classifying minerals from Elba, above all from the mining area on the eastern side, he also dedicated his time to working the hard stones.

Today his collection can be looked upon as clear proof of a scientific collection and also a deep studyof a truly unique mineral heritage.

Among the most significant samples we can also see the extremely rare Prasio quartz found for the first time on the Island of Elba by Alfeo Ricci, the strange and unique polarized Magnetite from the Calamita mine and the crystalline marble with crystals, a hexagonal shaped mineral with overlapping crystals similar to fish scales that can be found in only one place in the world, that he found in the Ginevro mine.