Patrimonio culturale dell'Emilia-Romagna

Ever since its foundation, the Museum has pursued the ambitious goal of combining historic research with the exhibitions and educational activities of a modern museum. It presents technological innovation as the outcome of complex social and cultural dynamics. Unlike most museums of its kind, the focal point of Villa Smeraldi’s exhibits is not the agricultural techniques of the past; rather, it stresses the historical context within which innovation takes place.

The Museum was instituted in 1975. As early as the 1960s, a group of farmers and ex-farmers ("Gruppo della stadura") had begun to collect material and tools from the local countryside. A group of scholars associated with the Economic History Department of the University of Bologna (Centro Economia, Società, Tecnologie) recognised the historic and educational value of the collection, and encouraged the institution of the Museum, whose mixed public-private management was unique at the time. In 1998 the Istituzione Villa Smeraldi was created. The Museum is housed in the 19thcentury Villa Smeralda and annexed buildings. The Museum’s success in getting its message across lies in its simple conceptual approach. It focuses on a precisely defined territory, the part of the Po Plain that lies north of Bologna and was drained during the 18thcentury, and a particular agricultural labour system known as metayage. This system was in place for over seven centuries, during which the way of life and work of local farmers changed very little. The Museum also looks at the crops that were cultivated under this system, namely wheat and grapes, as well as hemp, which was the focus of a highly specialized cultivation system until after World War II. These topics are presented in a way that highlights the relationship between the city of Bologna and the countryside. The collection has over 5,000 items, including tools, machinery, furniture, and furnishing. Over time, the Museum acquired additional sections documenting productive activities and the small-scale artisanal activities linked to the rural world. It traces the history of industrial fruit cultivation in Bologna and Emilia-Romagna and of beekeeping, sheds light on the unique aspects of local artisanal production, and describes cattle husbandry practices along with the way milk is collected and processed. The large farmhouse kitchen – the focal point of any rural home – was reconstructed in accordance with original accounts and is one of the Museum’s highlights. The Museum also has a specialized historical library (over 3,000 books and Italian and foreign journals), a large number of brochures inherited from the Cattedre ambulanti di Agricoltura – a 19th and early 20th century institution focusing on promoting technical knowledge among farmers - and an extensive photographic archive. Finally, the collection includes textiles, costumes, tapestries, prints, etchings, and matrixes.