Museo della Civiltà Contadina di Presicce

The Museum of Peasant Civilization of Presicce occupies rooms on the first floor of the Ducal Palace. Its collection of about 300 donated objects presents the agricultural and craft traditions of the Salento through four themed rooms: Earth, Fire, Water and Time.

Why it matters

The museum preserves material from the rural life that shaped Presicce and the surrounding region. Its objects came through private donations and include tools and household items associated with trades such as blacksmithing, cooperage, milling and weaving. The collection connects the town's oil economy with the lives and skills that supported it.

What to notice

The four rooms organize the collection by theme: Sala della Terra, Sala del Fuoco, Sala dell'Acqua and Sala del Tempo. Together they bring agricultural work, craft production, household life and the rhythms of the year into view. The range of tools and domestic objects gives the museum its account of the work behind the landscape and economy of the Salento.

Context and history

The museum's origins date to 1990, when local volunteers and councillor Gino Orlando began the collection in rooms of the Ducal Palace. Since 1996, the association Museo Aperto has managed the institution. Its location above the town's historic underground olive mills places the story of rural work within the palace at the centre of Presicce.