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Adalberto GIAZOTTO
The Giazotto Collection: a Gem and Mineral Masterwork Preservation Project
The purpose of this collection is to preserve mineral specimens in the same spirit as art masterpieces are preserved.
Mineral specimens of large size and high beauty are exceedingly rare and their survival is left to the taste, intelligence and connoisseurship of men living in the mines environment. The survival of a large exceptional specimen is an extremely rare event because nature is avaricious of outstanding specimens and dynamite blasting is widely used for ore extraction; blasting destroys everything.
In the gem material mines producing topaz, aquamarine, tourmaline etc.., crystals are almost always eradicated from the hosting rock for cutting. Very little uncut undamaged material is preserved.
Industrial mineral exploitation and gem cutting activity have destroyed fantastic specimens; while living creatures, close to extinction, may be repopulated by means of an appropriate environmental protection, the mineral heritage is destroyed forever and no repopulation is possible. When a mine is exhausted a hoard of minerals and crystal forms typical of that mine are lost forever.
Mineral extraction is the activity having the merit of discovering mineral specimens but has also the demerit of destroying them; in the same way as for the protection of living creatures, special precautions should be taken by mine directors for recovering crystals and specimens discovered during the mining activity.
There is not common consciousness against this destruction.
Another remarkable point about mineral specimens, a further consequence of this lack of consciousness, is people wide ignorance about them; apart for the effort of few dedicated peoples such as museum curators and mineral's collectors, there is no " wide culture" about them and in general art experts disregard completely the powerful natural aesthetics of some mineral specimens. Perhaps if outstanding mineral specimens will be displayed in art museums, this deep cultural void will be overcome and finally people's understanding will put these objects in the highest rank of excellence.
It is in this spirit that this collection begun in 1949 and since then the acquisition of outstanding specimens continued despite the funds paucity: exchange with museums, collectors and dealers was the way for upgrading the collection.
The Collection hosts about 1000 specimens all selected in the high quality range, both for gemmy, non-gemmy and systematic minerals. Brazil, with his most fantastic gem specimens is well represented together with Italy, China, Pakistan, Morocco and Afghanistan. The most recent acquisition campaign was done in Sicily; by knocking door to door at the miners houses in the Caltanissetta, Enna and Agrigento area, we found the most incredible specimens of sulphur and associated minerals, extracted not less than 20 years ago. Of the 600 active Sicilian mines no one is still open since 20 years and, by means of this action, we were able to keep in Italy some of the best Sicilian specimens ever extracted.
It could be an important cultural event that this material should be exposed in an appropriate environment where both mineral presentation and scientific captions could attract people's attention.
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Adalberto GIAZOTTO Click On Picture To Go Back.
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