Ferrante Imperato museum. Historical artwork of the collection of Italian apothecary Ferrante Imperato (c.1525-c.1615) in Naples, Italy. The wide range of natural history specimens included fossils, a crocodile (top), birds, fishes, seashells, and mineral samples. At right is Imperato's son Francesco, using a pointer to show visitors around the collection. Artwork from the 1672 Venice edition of Imperato's 'Historia Naturale' (1599).