The UB presents the first university Virtual Museum in Spain, with a collection of over 250 exhibits

The museum can be accessed at the following address:  www.ub.edu/museuvirtual/

The museum will initially be divided into nine separate collections, containing a total of more 250 exhibits that reflect the diversity of the University's heritage. During the second stage of the project, the original collections will be extended, and a series of new collections added.

At the ceremony held this morning, Lourdes Cirlot, Vice-Rector for Arts, Culture and Heritage, presented the nine inaugural collections: art, scientific instruments, the UB Library reserve collection, the Sabater Pi collection, the Catalan Pharmacy Museum, the Pavelló de la República collection, the Animal Biodiversity Resources Centre collection, the BCN Herbarium, and the Faculty of Geology Rock Library.

ART: the UB owns an extensive collection of works from the 16th-20th centuries, many of enormous artistic and historical value, such as Andromeda and Perseus (Luca Giordano, 17th century) and the paintings by the celebrated Catalan artist Dionís Baixeras that adorn the walls of the University Paranymph. The museum also contains examples of Catalan architecture including the Pavellons Güell, designed by Antoni Gaudí and built in the period 1884-87.

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS: Scientific instrumentation is key to the development of scientific research and the generation of knowledge through history, and the collection contains renowned examples such as the magic lantern developed by M. Dubosc in 1870, a UMA photomicrographic camera dating from 1920, and the Phillips 200 transmission microscope from 1996, one of the first electron microscopes ever developed.

UB LIBRARY RESERVE COLLECTION: The historical collection boasts a number of influential works including El Llibre dels feyts (1343) attributed to James I, Count of Barcelona, and one of the most important printed editions of the 16th century, the Astronomicum Caesareum, written by Petrus Appian in 1540.

SABATER PI COLLECTION: The Sabater Pi collection includes the sculpture Biang-Mëlan, created by the artist Ndutum Xingo in Equatorial Guinea in 1950, and a selection of naturalist drawings by Dr. Sabater Pi.

CATALAN PHARMACY MUSEUM: The Catalan Pharmacy Museum is located in the Faculty of Pharmacy, and contains a number of valuable exhibits including the 1511 Concordia Apothecariorium Barchin, the first pharmacopeia to be published in Spain and the second document of its kind in Europe. The 17th-century albarellos - earthenware jars originally designed to hold ointments and other medicinal products - are also of particular note.

PAVELLÓ DE LA REPÚBLICA COLLECTION: The Pavelló de la República collection contains a number of interesting pieces including a selection of paper money dating from 1936 and the anti-Fascist poster Aixafem el Feixisme, published in the same year by the Catalan government (Generalitat de Catalunya).

ANIMAL BIODIVERSITY RESOURCE CENTRE COLLECTION: The Animal Biodiversity Resource Centre has provided the museum with several unique pieces, including a young example of a two-headed calf, a section from the shell of a Nautilus pompilius (Linnaeus, 1758), and the oldest collection of birds in Catalonia, considered one of the most important collections in Europe.

BNC HERBARIUM: The BCN Herbarium, run by the Plant Biodiversity Documentation Centre, contains around 300,000 specimens, mainly from Catalonia, making it the third largest collection in Spain and one of the most diverse.

FACULTY OF GEOLOGY ROCK COLLECTION: The Faculty of Geology's rock collection (Litoteca) contains a wide selection of geological samples originally acquired for research purposes and which now form an important part of the geological heritage of the University.

The UB Virtual Museum is unique in Spain, and the size and diversity of the collection make it of interest to specialist researchers and academics, as well as to the general public. The classification system is considered one of the most advanced in current use and is employed by many other leading museums in Spain and around the world.