The museum of merceology of University of Bari

Th e Museum of Merceology of the University of Bari was instituted in 1886 at the Royal High School of Commerce of Bari. Together with the merceology laboratory, it provided valuable assistance to the teaching of the commodity science and to local entrepreneurs, through the variety of goods that were exposed, which allowed to recognize and compare the goods with the “standard” samples. In 1935 the High Schools of Commerce in Italy became Faculty of Economy and Commerce. Th e Museum lost its original venue and arrangement which for forty years gave it a preeminent role in business studies in Bari and in the economic development of the territory. At a later time, World War II took its toll on the Museum but above all ,the lack of interest during the post war reconstruction got it turned down. Indeed,, after the second war, the Museum lost its function in teaching and research of commodity science, as is was the case for most Italian museums of merceology, since they were no longer able to keep up with new technologies which were applied to the industrial process. Currently the Museum is closed to the public. A narrow space is used to showcase the collections which are exposed on tables and shelves, but the University of Bari has a project of renovation of exhibition and moving it into new spaces, together with a systematic process of cataloguing and restoration of the existing items.