Museum of Popular and Peasant Culture of Villastellone (Turin – Italy): discovering our roots
The Villastellone Museum, founded in 1991 by Professor Riccardo Assom, an art teacher at the local school “Cesare Pavese”, offers to visitors a fascinating insight into the peasant and popular world. Through a path rich of objects and testimonies of the past, stories of realities that have now disappeared or that are on the verge of extinction are told, offering food for thought on the agricultural and artisanal work of past eras.
The Museum was born thanks to the commitment of Professor Assom and his students, who together created the first cataloguing fund and the restoration of the objects that make up the collection today. The latter includes around 5,000 pieces, donated by fellow citizens and residents of the surrounding areas, which document the daily and domestic life of the past.
In 2007, the Municipality of Villastellone restored and then granted the ancient wing of the public weight, in “Piazza Libertà” the central square of the village, to preserve the collection relating to the world of agricultural and artisanal work.
Today, the new board of directors “Amici del Museo”, composed of President Dario Soldera and a group of volunteers, including former students of Professor Assom, has taken charge of the management and organization of cultural events and free guided tours.
Our Museum is loved by everyone, which is why we like to call it “the Museum that lives”. Not only does it preserve the memory of the past, but it is also a dynamic place that hosts painting, photography and object exhibitions. Guided tours are organized for all age groups, making it an ideal destination for families and schools.
If you are wondering what to do on sunday in the province of Turin, the Villastellone Museum is an interesting and enriching activity. An excellent opportunity to spend a day immersed in culture, rediscovering the peasant traditions of our land. We are open during the village events or by reservation, contacting us by phone, e-mail, Google or on social media Facebook and Instagram.
Visit the Museum with your school and discover how, through an engaging experience, children can explore rural history and learn while having fun. Each visit is an opportunity to learn more about our roots and to better understand our past, thus contributing to the construction of a conscious future.
Supporting and keeping the Museum alive is an ongoing challenge, but it is also an undertaking that allows us to stop time and protect the memory of a culture that risks being forgotten.
