The Museum of Rural Life in Gaville was founded in 1974 with the aim of safeguarding the traditions, objects and tools of the farming world. Over the years, thanks to donations, the collection of objects has grown to over 7,000 pieces.
The museum’s collection has been housed, since its inception, in the rooms adjacent to the Romanesque Parish Church of San Romolo in Gaville, just outside Figline Valdarno.
Inside the structure, which is divided into 14 rooms, you can find rooms that represent the classic peasant life: from the kitchen to the bedroom, passing through the cellar, the blacksmith’s workshop, the oil mill and much more.
Upon entering, you will find a list of now-disappeared jobs, which today seem strange and sometimes unknown. Some of these are the cartwright, the one who repaired the carts used in agriculture, or the pine cone collector, the one who collected pine cones as a job.
Very characteristic is the ancient oil mill which is located in one of the main rooms. This is still in its original position, as oil was produced in the church premises centuries before the museum was founded.
Also interesting is the kitchen, with a set table in the centre and all its furnishings, such as the characteristic kneading trough where bread was kept, earthenware soup tureens and much more.
A journey immersed in time where the visitor is transported inside the peasant era thanks to the total absence of display cases, which make all the objects part of the structure, as if time had stopped.
The Museum is therefore the best place in the Valdarno and Florence area where you can discover the ancient traditions and the way of life of peasant civilisation, and is a must-see destination for young people, who often do not know the origins of our territory.
For more information, you will find opening hours and a map on how to reach the Museum below.
For other information visit the website of the Casa della Civiltà Contadina.
Parish Church of San Romolo in Gaville, Figline and Incisa Valdarno
e-mail: info@museogaville.it
From 1 April to 30 June and from 1 September to 30 October
Sunday 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM