Opened in August of 1997 as a permanent exhibition, the historic nucleus of the Museum is set up inside the old private home of the inventors and promoters of this initiative designed to enhance one of the most typical environmental resources of the area.

 

The collection has been put together through the acquisition of object related to the cultivation and processing of hemp. These objects are on display in the basement of a building built at the beginning of the 17th C. in which ancient living quarters have been recreated.

 

The kitchen has a period fireplace and is full of the utensils, tools and instruments used in farm activities, and children’s toys made out of hemp. The bedroom is furnished with a wrought iron bed, a linen trunk and has family photos on the walls: the largest room has been set aside for the loom and there are still the reeds used to card the fibre, the spindles and wool winders, the reels and large reels used to produce skeins and balls of wool. Finally, in the fabric and embroidery rooms one can see the final products of the transformation process: blankets, sheets, towels, tablecloths and articles of clothing.

 

Among the many objects on show worthy of note are two 18th C. looms, spools, standard wool winders, spindles and distaffs and the tools usually used to process hemp.

 

The collection has recently been purchased by the Council which has arranged for their transfer to another building. Nevertheless, the ancient nucleus will be preserved as documentation of a typical home of the area and to illustrate how the Museum came into existence.