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Museo della civiltà contadina

Municipal museum in the centre of Bastiglia on rural life in the middle and lower Modena plain in the first half of the 20th century, with a garden of native plants.

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About the museum

The Comune di Bastiglia set up the Museo della civiltà contadina in 1977, in the historic building in Piazza Repubblica, to collect and preserve evidence of local history and peasant life: documents, work tools and craft products recovered with the help of citizens. Activity was interrupted in 2012 by the earthquake and then by the flood of 2014. The architectural restoration work was completed in 2018, and in 2021 the new route, created with the Museo civico di Modena, was inaugurated.

The display tells the story of the rural world of the Modena plain before industrialisation and presents the history of the area as a source of local identity. The visit begins in the garden, with native plants such as pear trees, vines, dog rose, hawthorn and willows, then continues in the building through thematic sections in which objects, captioned photographs and videos with direct testimonies stand side by side.

On the ground floor are the “terre d’acqua” (lands of water), the peasant family, field work, livestock farming, and vines and wine; on the first floor are the dairy, pig slaughter, crafts, cooking, the condition of women, and social and religious life. In the civic hall “Tullio Ferrari”, films on peasant life and the struggles of day labourers are shown.

Highlights

Garden with native plants of Emilia
Sections on ploughing, harvesting, vines and wine
Dairy, pig slaughter and travelling trades
Peasant cooking and the condition of women
Films in the civic hall “Tullio Ferrari”