Museo della civiltà agricola "La Manera"

About the museum

The museum was founded in 1989 from a collection of old photographs of Santa Cristina, shown in the village and in Borgomanero; the exhibition prompted the collecting of tools, furniture, linen and other objects of rural life. Piero Valsesia and Alberto Caione were its promoters, and the private collection of Dr Dino Cerutti was later added. The Gruppo per la Civiltà Agricola Locale, founded in 1992, keeps the museum open with volunteer work; after a thorough renovation, the museum reopened on 11 January 2014 with a display that is clearer for visitors.

The venue is the former Palazzo Bono, built in 1605 to house a congregation of priests, then a college for clerics and, from 1803, property of the Bono family; at the start of the 20th century part of it passed to the Municipality and was used as a school. The route includes the Salette (popular devotion, confraternities, ritual calendar), the Galleria (field work, tools, silkworm rearing), five rooms with reconstructed settings (crafts, school, kitchen, bedroom, leisure) and the Cantina with stable, well and oven. There is also a 19th-century miniature farm, craft tools and religious objects.

Highlights

• Reconstructed kitchen, bedroom, cellar, attic and school room
• Gallery on field work, tools and silkworm rearing
• Small rooms on popular devotion and the ritual calendar
• 19th-century miniature farm
• Cerutti Collection

Permanent exhibition

• Salette, Galleria, sale 1–5 e Cantina – Reconstructed rural life settings, farm and craft tools, a section on popular devotion and a miniature farm.

Founded

1992

Operated by

Gruppo per la Civiltà Agricola Locale

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

For nurseries and primary schools, volunteers offer workshops: writing with a quill and ink in a period classroom, bread-making, building a scarecrow, washing clothes at the Fontanone, butter-making, traditional games and activities with historical documents.

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