Museum of Peasant Civilization
Montallegro

The Museum of Peasant Civilization is a small gem nestled in the history of the rural village of Montallegro. Until the second half of the 17th century, the village stood on that rocky peak overlooking the current town, from where one can glimpse the ruins of the old settlement, still visitable with the help of expert staff. The ancient village thrived for centuries thanks to its enviable position overlooking the fertile surrounding countryside all the way to the sea of the Torre Salsa and Bovo Marina Natural Reserve. In the second half of the 17th century, it was gradually abandoned, so the craftsmen, farmers, and artisans carried with them to the new village, which sprung up at the foot of the mountain, their tools and everyday belongings. The memory of that distant past can still be appreciated today at the Museum of Peasant Civilization, established in 1991 and located on Viale della Vittoria, in the glass palace of the former Town Hall. This museum is the result of a school project by the “Ezio Contino” Comprehensive Institute aimed at enhancing and preserving the memory of the territory and its inhabitants. The museum is dedicated to Salvatore Rizzuto, a teacher at the “Palumbo” middle school, where for over twenty years, a thousand agricultural artifacts collected from the population were preserved, thanks to the commendable work of this teacher and other colleagues.

The Museum of Peasant Civilization in Montallegro is now divided into three sections: peasant world, household environment, and artisan life. It houses over a thousand objects used in traditional trades such as the press for extracting honey, wooden plows, sickles, iron harrows, “sacchine,” and “vertuli”: ancient bags for carrying various products on donkeys and horses. On the first floor, with the collaboration of teachers, the ancient domestic environments have been recreated with a wealth of artifacts that offer a glimpse into life from the last century. On the ground floor, among various artifacts, two hand-carved and painted Sicilian carts and a valuable nativity scene stand out, sealing the rich ethnological, anthropological, and cultural heritage of Montallegro.