MUSARB – Museo della cultura arbëreshe Nicola Barbato
Civic museum dedicated to the history and culture of the Arbëreshe community of Piana degli Albanesi, housed in a former Greek-Byzantine rite oratory.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
MUSARB gathers the historical, cultural and artistic testimonies of the Albanian community that settled in Sicily in the 15th century, after the diaspora caused by the Ottoman advance in the Balkans. The museum, named after Nicola Barbato, was renovated and presented to the public in 2024 during the celebrations for the foundation of the town.
The seat is the former Greek-Byzantine rite oratory of San Filippo Neri, an early 18th-century building next to the church of San Giorgio Megalomartire. It was founded by the Blessed Father Giorgio Guzzetta for the education of celibate Filippine priests of the Greek rite, known as “Rritiri”.
The exhibition route tells the story of Piana from its foundation to the massacre of Portella della Ginestra in 1947, the first mafia massacre of the Italian Republic, and presents Greek-Byzantine religiosity with its icons, traditional costumes embroidered in gold on silk, the world of traditional crafts and the peasant house. One section is devoted to the natural environment of the area, with fossils, the lake, the mountains and the Grotta del Garrone, and includes a herbarium of the tree species of the Serre della Pizzuta Oriented Nature Reserve.
Highlights
- Women’s traditional costume with gold embroidery on silk
- Section on icons of the Greek-Byzantine tradition
- Memorial to Portella della Ginestra
- Material culture: traditional crafts and the peasant house
- Herbarium of tree species from the Serre della Pizzuta Reserve
Permanent exhibition
- Percorso espositivo permanente – The route covers the history of Piana, material culture, icons, traditional costume, Portella della Ginestra and the natural environment.
- Founded
- 1989
- Operated by
- Comune di Piana degli Albanesi
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €6 |
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| Children & teens | freefree up to age 22 · Free admission for young people up to age 22. |
| Visitors with disabilities | –companion free · Free admission for persons with disabilities accompanied by a companion. |
Free admission also for ICOM members, tourist guides, teachers and journalists with a press card.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome
- Tactile models & exhibits
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials
- Audio description: no information
The museum is declared accessible to persons with motor, visual, hearing and cognitive disabilities. There is a lift and a platform lift, a wheelchair available at the ticket office, fixed and portable tactile maps, and thermoformed panels reproducing objects and texts in Braille in every room. Touchscreens with subtitled descriptive videos in LIS (Italian Sign Language) illustrate each section; the texts are written in plain language, and a guide in Easy to Read format is available.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum is in the historic centre of Piana degli Albanesi, next to the church of San Giorgio Megalomartire.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | For information and to arrange a visit, you can fill in the contact form on the museum’s website. |
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