Museo della Mezzadria senese
Ethnographic museum in Buonconvento, housed in the Tinaia dei Taja: sharecropping in the Sienese countryside, with talking figures and a reconstructed farmhouse.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Museo della Mezzadria Senese opened in September 2002 in the Tinaia, an old wine cellar of the noble Sienese Taja family, which the family renovated and enlarged in the 18th century, connecting it to their palazzo on the main street of Buonconvento. The building is part of the town walls and was bought by the municipality in the 1980s. The museum grew out of the enhancement of the earlier Museo della civiltà contadina (Museum of Peasant Life) and is now part of the museum network of the Siena area.
The route documents sharecropping (mezzadria), a farming contract in which the landowner provided the land and capital and the sharecropping family provided the labour, with the produce divided at the end. The system lasted from the 12th century to the second half of the 20th century and profoundly shaped Tuscan society and landscape.
The displays use period photographs, original objects, literary extracts, music, films, archive documents and multimedia stations. On the ground floor, visitors encounter the agricultural landscape, the farm, threshing, the mill and the rural village. On the second floor, they find the life of the sharecropping family, the smallholding and work in the fields, with a reconstruction of the farmhouse. Talking figures of the landowner, the estate steward (fattore), the capoccia (head of the sharecropping family) and the farm housewife tell the story of sharecropping from their own point of view.
Highlights
- Eighteenth-century Tinaia of the Taja family, part of the Buonconvento town walls
- Talking figures of the landowner, the estate steward, the capoccia and the housewife
- Reconstructed farmhouse with kitchen and bedroom
- Rotating cylinder showing the seasons and farm work
- Sections on threshing, the mill and the rural village
- Combined ticket with the Museo d'Arte Sacra della Val d'Arbia
Permanent exhibition
- Il percorso museale sulla mezzadria – Two floors of the Tinaia with the agricultural landscape, farm, threshing, mill, rural village, life of the sharecropping family and a reconstructed farmhouse.
- Founded
- 2002
- Operated by
- Comune di Buonconvento (gestione Pro Loco)
- Visitors per year
- approx. 1,988
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €3 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €2Children aged 6 to 12, people over 65, holders of the Carta Universitaria Regionale (regional university card) |
| Children & teens | €2free up to age 5 · Reduced rate for ages 6 to 12; free admission under 6. |
| Seniors | €2Reduced rate over 65. |
| Visitors with disabilities | freecompanion free · Free admission for people with disabilities and their companions. |
| Combined ticket Museo della Mezzadria Senese + Museo d'Arte Sacra della Val d'Arbia | €5Reduced €3. |
| FMS Card individual (two museums) | €10Unicoop Firenze members €8. |
| FMS Card family (two museums) | €18 |
Combined ticket with the Museo d'Arte Sacra della Val d'Arbia: €5 (reduced €3). The FMS Card for both museums costs €10 (individual) or €18 (family); €8 for members of Unicoop Firenze.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & 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
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Visits and workshops can also be booked outside opening hours by contacting the staff. The route includes multimedia stations and talking figures. |
