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| Museum of the Month |
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Gastronomic Museums
in Italy
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From the North to the South Italy holds true to its tradition of gastronomy, with
some of the worlds finest producers of Wines, Olive Oils, Pastas and Balsamic Vinegars just to name a few. Italy's
rich history of Food and Wines can be studied through a variety of museums, which allow the public first hand to
observe the gastronomic delights.
Why not let your taste sensations take a vacation with you as you experience one of the greatest things Italy has
to offer - FOOD!!!
Enjoy and... Buon Appetito!
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| National Museum of Pasta - Roma |
Palazzo Scanderbeg, p.zza Scanderbeg, 114/120 Roma
Phone 06/6991119-6991120 |
| A museum that explains the technological production of pasta and shows how the famous
forms were born. |
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Notes:
The museum is divided into various sections: the first one (called the
Grain Room) houses a huge millstone and illustrates the different stages of pasta making; the Ligurian Room explains
the different methods in pasta-making, how the different kinds of pasta are shaped (penne, maccheroni, etc..),
the cooking methods, recepies and other curiosities; the Rubino-Scaglione Room links pasta and art; the Napoli
Room displays photos of celebrities enjoing pasta dishes. Among the curious: the industrial archaeological gallery
that keeps five old machines still perfectly functioning. |
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| The Olive Tree Museum - Imperia (Liguria) |
via Garessio, 11/13 - Imperia
Phone 0183/295762 |
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The Olive Tree Museum is a major Italian private museum, created to portray the olive
tree, symbol of the Mediterranean: for 6,000 years it has played a leading role in the economic, technical, artistic
and religious history of humanity. |
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Notes:
The museum illustrates the olive tree life and provides documentation on
the use of olive oil as fuel for heating and lighting, as foodstuff, and as cosmetic and medicinal preparations'
component; each use is documented by original objects. A video also shows the different pressing techniques. |
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| The Salt-Works History Museum - Foggia (Apulia) |
Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 1 - Margherita di Savoia (Foggia)
Phone 0883/651063 (Municipal Library) 654000 (Town Hall) |
| A museum which displays the objects that for centuries have been used to extract salt. |
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Opening Hours:
Mon. to Sat. 9-13 and 16-20, Sun. on request
Closing days:
Web Site: |
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Notes:
This museum houses industrial archaeology relics: tools and machines for
salt drawing, transport and processing, weather- and electrical instruments and salt samples from the salt-works
of S. Margherita di Savoia, the most important in Europe, going from the 3rd century BC. It also illustrates the
drawing and processing techniques used in the course of the centuries in salt-works. Among the items on display:
evaporimeters, moulds for bronze or iron casting, a collection of cases for salt presentation, a series of alphanumerical
punches and weigh-bridges. |
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| Martini Museum of the History of Oenology - Chieri (Torino,
Piedmont) |
fraz. Pessione, Stabilimento Martini & Rossi, p.zza Luigi Rossi, 1 - Chieri (Torino)
Phone 011/94191 |
| The oenological Martini Museum, the most important one in Europe. |
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Opening Hours:
Tues. to Fri. 14-17, Sat. and Sun. 9-12 and 14-17
Admission free
Closing days:
closed on Mondays, the month of August and at Christmas and Easter
Web Site:
www.martinimuseum.com |
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Notes:
Housed in the former cellars of the Martini&Rossi's factory, this museum
keeps industrial machineries (19th to early 20th century), archaeological finds (Attic and Etruscan pottery), ethnographic
material (vases, presses, carts) alongside English and German silverware and crystal works from the 15th century
to the present time. |
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| The Grappa Museum - Bassano del Grappa (Vicenza, Veneto) |
via Gamba, 6 - Bassano del Grappa (Vicenza)
Phone 0424/524426 |
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A museum gives its visitors the chance to understand the history of grappa, how it
is made and recipes that
can be made from the liquor which is most loved by Italians. |
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Opening Hours:
Tues. to Sun. 9 -13 and 14.30 - 19.30, Mon. 14.30 - 19.30
Admission free
Closing days:
Web Site:
www.poligrappa.com |
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Notes:
Opened in 1993 and located in a 15th-century building, this museum houses
educational material concerning the distillation of "grappa" (an Italian eau-de-vie), from alchemic methods
to modern technologies. It also houses a collection of documents on the history of distillation since Egyptian
times up to the 17th century. |
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| The Grapes and Wine Museum - Carmignano (Prato, Tuscany) |
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, 2 - Carmignano (Prato)
Phone 055/8712468 |
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Carmignano rates special mention with its wine singled out for protection by the Grand
Duke of Tuscany in 1716. Today this rare red from Sangiovese and Cabernet has qualified as DOCG |
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Opening Hours:
9-12 and 15-18
Closing days:
closed Monday
Web Site: |
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Notes:
The museum, devoted to the Medicean route of the Carmignano wines, presents
18th-century coloured maps of the Barco Reale, a vast game reserve the Medicis owned in the Montalbano area, municipal
statutes, stewards'letters, and canonical booklets. Interesting is the Federigo Melis Collection of wines including
over 800 bottles ordered according to their place of origin and producers and illustrating local wine production
in the early decades of the postwar period. |
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| The Grapes and Wine Museum - Rufina (Firenze, Tuscany) |
Villa di Poggio Reale, v.le Duca della Vittoria, 125 - Rufina (Firenze)
Phone 055/8397932 (Museum) 055/8396532 (Culture Office) |
| Villa di Poggioreale, an exquisite Renaissance building in the town of Rufina host
the wine museum, which chronicles the history of the zone. |
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Opening Hours:
Sat. and Sun. 10-13 and 16-19
Closing days:
Web Site: |
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Notes:
Housed on the basement of Villa Poggio Reale, the museum gathers a collection
of tools and machinery used in wine growing and vinification. A room houses a "virtual grape harvest"
showing two rows of vines with bunches of pieces of information, texts, and pictures. Besides, a video documents
a real grape harvest in the 1950s. The exhibition ends with a section devoted to trade and consumption. |
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| The Citrus Museum - Reggio
Calabria (Calabria) |
via Generale Tommasini, 2 - Reggio Calabria
Phone 0965/24315 |
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This unusual museum is housed in a research centre for the local citrus essence and
derivative production. We can find here machinery used for extracting juices and essences from citruses. |
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Opening Hours:
8:00 am -2:00 pm
Admission free
Closing days:
closed Saturday and Sunday
Web Site: |
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Notes:
Remarkable exhibit: the bergamot machine designed by Gangeri; this machine
is a modified version of the type deviced in 1840 by Nicola Barillà. Of interest is the photographic collection
illustrating the jasmine cultivation, picking, and processing at Brancaleone and the opium poppy cultivation. |
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