The department collection is spread out, due to size and functions, from the Museum entrance to outside areas. Indeed it includes complete plants, both historic and modern, such as the Regina Margherita thermoelectric power station (1895) and a 3-kW photovoltaic field linked to the network. The hall located on floor -1 of the Monumental Building has the task of offering an overview of energy sources and related devices. The exhibition is constantly being updated and has various areas. The first to be renovated is dedicated to oil and its industry. The others “under construction” concern gas, renewable energies (in particular water, sun and wind), coal and its historic link with steam, nuclear energy. At the centre of the hall, important historic objects offer glimpses into the history of Italian energy. Audiovisual material is also available on themes linked to the exhibition.

How can you identify a hydrocarbon field? What happens to crude oil in a refinery? How many things are done with oil and how much scientific research is involved? For more than a century the oil industry has been one of the key elements in the world energy sector. It is a chain characterized by an inseparable interlacing of scientific, technological, legal and economic aspects. Let’s explore this complexity through case studies: an oilfield in the heart of Basilicata, a refinery on the outskirts of Rome, a laboratory for technological bitumen in the Canavese region. Three stories about oil to learn how much work there is behind it and to try to understand the road that lies ahead of us.