UMA DOAÇÃO CENTENÁRIA. O MISTÉRIO DAS AMOSTRAS BRASILEIRAS NA COLEÇÃO GEOLÓGICA DO “REAL COLLEGIO CARLO ALBERTO DI MONCALIERI”, TURIM, ITÁLIA

Abstract

A centennial donation. The mystery of the Brazilian samples in the geological collection of the Real Collegio di Moncalieri, Turin, Italy. A curatorial investigation conducted at the geological collections of the Real Collegio Carlo Alberto in Moncalieri, Turin, Italy, revealed the presence of minerals and rocks from Brazil that were once part of the former Serviço Geológico e Mineralógico do Brasil (Brazilian Geological and Mineralogical Survey). Twenty-eight samples were identified through typed labels in Portuguese, indicating the association with the “Serviço Geológico e Mineralógico do Brasil,” sequential numbers assigned within a collection, sample identification, and the respective locality of origin. The absence of primary documentation raises questions about the origin of the Brazilian collection at the Real Collegio. However, further investigation into the annual reports of the Brazilian survey uncovered that, in 1927, a collection of 140 minerals was dispatched to the Brazilian embassy in Rome. No additional information in subsequent reports regarding the dispatch of collections to Italy by the Brazilian survey led the authors to conclude that the samples sent to the Brazilian embassy in Rome in 1927 are the same collection discovered at the Real Collegio Carlo Alberto in Moncalieri. Keywords: Mineralogical colection, Real Collegio Carlo Alberto, Brazilian Geological and Mineralogical Survey