Museo del Territorio di Ostellato

The Museum of the Territory of Ostellato presents the history of the Po plain through the relationship between landscape and human settlement. Designed for a converted hay barn at Corte Valle, its exhibition follows the region from geological formation to the drainage of the Valli di Mezzano.

Why it matters

The museum's subject is the territory itself: the land, water and communities that shaped the eastern Po plain. Its narrative connects the ancient lagoon settlement of Spina with the major reclamation projects that transformed the Valli di Mezzano into agricultural land. Sections on writer Mario Soldati and his friendship with Giorgio Bassani add a literary dimension to the landscape's history.

What to notice

The two-floor exhibition moves from the formation of the plain and its early human history to the later transformation of the Po Delta. A scenographic section on Etruscan Spina evokes daily life in the ancient port city, while plant remains from the settlement help reconstruct its environment and diet. Four interactive stations explore the delta, and displays on the Valli di Mezzano consider the social and economic consequences of land reclamation.

Context and history

The museum was designed specifically for the former hay barn of the Corte Valle farmstead. Its exhibition treats the territory as a historical subject rather than organising the narrative around a single art collection. From the Etruscan settlement of Spina to the twentieth-century drainage of the Valli di Mezzano, it traces how the communities of the region adapted the landscape and were reshaped by it.