Museo del Lavoro Contadino

About the museum

The Museo del Lavoro Contadino is set up on the ground floor of the Castello dei Conti Oliva in Piandimeleto and was opened in 1982 by the municipality in cooperation with the Istituto di Storia of the University of Urbino. It documents life and work in the countryside of the area over the last centuries.

The castle is a 15th-century fortress on the Foglia river, transformed by Count Carlo Oliva, a Renaissance patron of the arts, into a noble residence. It retains defensive features such as Ghibelline battlements (merli ghibellini), corbels (beccatelli) and a wall walk (cammino di ronda), alongside decorations inspired by the Palazzo Ducale of Urbino. After the end of the Oliva lordship it remained the property of the community, which has always used it as a place of public life.

Besides the rural museum, the castle houses the Museo di Scienze della Terra (Earth Sciences Museum), the Erbario delle Marche (Herbarium of the Marche), the Salone d’Onore, known as the “Camera Picta”, and the Sala Araldica (Heraldry Hall).

Highlights

• The grain cycle: tools, sowing, harvesting and rural religious life
• Processing of hemp and wool and craft workshops (blacksmith, shoemaker, carpenter, cooper, wheelwright)
• Farmhouse with kitchen, bedroom and cellar with winemaking tools
• Based in the Castello dei Conti Oliva, with the Camera Picta and Sala Araldica

Permanent exhibition

• Il lavoro contadino – Route on the grain cycle, the processing of hemp and wool, craft workshops and the farmhouse with kitchen, bedroom and cellar.

Founded

1982

Operated by

Comune di Piandimeleto

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The castle’s museums can be reached by lift, except the Earth Sciences section.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on the ground floor of the Castello dei Conti Oliva, in Piazza Conti Oliva, in the centre of Piandimeleto.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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