Museo Casa di Zela

About the museum

Casa di Zela is a rural building in the protected area of La Querciola, in Quarrata. Its oldest core is thought to have been a defensive tower house, reduced in the 16th century to “case da lavoratore” (workers’ houses) with the spread of sharecropping. In the 19th century it was known as “la Baccheretana” and later as “Casa Franchetti”; the present name perhaps derives from the nickname “gli Zeli” of the last sharecropping family, who lived there until 1962.

Long abandoned and in serious decay, the house was donated to the municipality by the Banchelli family, which oversaw its restoration while keeping the layered structure of the building. Some rooms are furnished with period furniture and tools. The house is now a documentation centre for the territory and an ethnographic museum dedicated to the rural roots of Quarrata.

The museum displays the collection of Ernesto Franchi, around 7,000 objects gathered over more than fifty years: on the ground floor the relics of the two World Wars, the kitchen with its oven and the weaving room; on the mezzanine the upper stable converted into a gallery of tools; on the first floor the bedroom, the room of popular devotion and the room of home-made games, and finally the hayloft. Visits and workshops are run by the volunteers of the Associazione Amici di Casa di Zela.

Highlights

• Around 7,000 objects of rural life
• Rooms of the last sharecropping family
• Section on home-made games and toys
• Relics of the two World Wars
• La Querciola natural oasis around the house

Permanent exhibition

• Collezione Ernesto Franchi – Around 7,000 objects from rural life, farm work, the World Wars and games, arranged in the rooms of the house.

Founded

2009

Operated by

Comune di Quarrata (gestione Associazione Amici di Casa di Zela)

Visitors per year

approx. 1,232

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission. A contribution towards materials is requested for the educational workshops: €4 per participant for the home-made toy workshop and €3 for the visit by upper secondary school classes.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Home-made toy workshop for girls and boys aged 7 to 14.

Getting there & parking

The museum is at Via Nuova 48, in the locality of Casini, near the La Querciola protected natural area.

Amenities & dining

In the farmyard, under the mulberry trees, you can have a snack or a packed lunch.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit