Museo delle Miniere di Morgnano

The Morgnano Mine Museum in Spoleto occupies the restored Pozzo Orlando shaft and documents the region's lignite industry and mining communities.

Why it matters

For decades, lignite extraction linked rural communities around Spoleto to the steelworks of Terni. The museum preserves the industrial history of the mines and the memory of the 1955 disaster at Morgnano.

What to notice

The surviving extraction structure anchors displays of tools, documents and objects from the mine. Recorded testimonies from former miners preserve the language and experience of underground work. The exhibition also commemorates the 1955 tragedy, which left a lasting mark on the community.

Context and history

Organised mining in the Spoletino began in 1881 and ended in 1961. Lignite extracted from the area supplied the Terni steelworks. Morgnano and Pozzo Orlando were central to this mining system. In 1955 a disaster at the mine became a defining event in local memory. After the mines closed, the municipality and the association Amici delle Miniere restored the shaft and established the museum, which opened in 2009.