Taxon Expeditions goes medieval!

24 May – 1 June 2024, Tuscany, Italy

Price: € 3,000 for students, € 4,500 for others

Join us on an adventure for science to the majestic Castello and the fields, forests and streams of Potentino Valley. Not only will you study new and unique species but you also get to do your own mini research project on the biodiversity of the ancient olive trees and organic vineyards, and nature reserves. Tutti benvenuti! 

On this unique trip you will:

• Work with entomologists to operate fancy insect trapping devices with exotic names like Malaise Trap, Baited Pitfall Trap, and the Winkler Eclector

• Crawl into a limestone cave and search for unsuspected cavernicolous lifeforms

• Walk the fields like a real old-fashioned naturalist with butterfly net, field book, and botany box at hand

• Explore several state-of-the-art apps for species identification with Artificial Intelligence

• Learn the age-old techniques for setting and pinning insects

• Not for the fainthearted: dissect snails and slugs and discover all about their gender-bending genitalia

• Set up, run, and complete your very own multi-day biodiversity research project (with a help of our experts)

• Write a real scientific article, and, if you want, present your results to the whole team in a mini conference setting in the castle’s grand dining hall

• Enjoy thrilling evening lectures by the expedition experts, while sipping wine and sampling cheese

• Stay in an impressive room in the castle, enjoy local cuisine and organically produced wine

• Dip in a pool or river to relax

Included in the price: 

• accommodation in Castello di Potentino
• domestic travel (from Rome to Castello di Potentino)
• meals, including a wine tasting evening
• lectures and study materials, including a book
• hands-on field research & lab work, including equipment and research material