The zoological museum “Cambrìa” was founded owing to the donation of an important private collection of vertebrates, property of the Officer Francesco Cambrìa, to the University of Messina on January 6, 1931. The collection, left for many years without any potential use, was opened to public from 1964 to 1985. Between 2003 and 2005 the faunal collection was recovered, restored and prepared for the guided exhibition in the Museum of the History of Science in the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences. In reference to the herpetofauna, 25 specimens (two Amphibians and 16 Reptiles) were recovered and currently classified. The zoological collection of the Cambrìa Museum has an high historical value, being witness of a peculiar collecting method, not to mention its relevant educational and scientific value.