The chestnut museum

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The chestnut museum

Un percorso museale al chiuso e all'aperto dedicato alle castagne

The Museo del Castagno Documentation Centre was founded in 2000 on the ground floor of the ancient Hospital of San Giacomo di Zocca (MO). The building, mentioned for the first time in a document dated 1186, was managed in the past by friars and accommodated pilgrims who travelled through these lands to reach the Holy City.

The Chestnut Museum consists of three rooms and traces the history of the chestnut through objects related to it. In the two side rooms there are tools for the care of the chestnut grove and for processing products. Instead in the central hall, a series of panels illustrates the features of the chestnut tree (typical of the area), its national, European and global distribution, diseases and grafts. A corner of the room, called Fantacastagneto, is used to rebuild the habitat of the chestnut grove and allows children to experience the characteristics first hand.

The museum tour then continues outside the Hospital and goes along a flat pathway into the heart of the chestnut groves of Monte San Giacomo. The pathway, divided into 13 stages, is equipped with information boards illustrating the cultivation phases of the chestnut, retracing the activities to be carried out to correctly maintain the orchard and its life stages.

The outdoor itinerary ends at the Bosco delle Betulle. Here a series of arboreal and herbaceous species, including rare and particular ones that are typical of this climate zone can be admired.  The Chestnut Museum actively collaborates with schools, especially in the autumn during the chestnut harvesting period.

The Museum-Laboratory of the borlengo (a thin flatbread), located in two rooms is opposite the Chestnut Museum. One room is dedicated to the exhibition area: old “borlengo” pans, objects related to culture and rural tradition, alternate with numerous explanatory signs on how to prepare this tasty traditional dish. There is a laboratory in the other room to teach how to prepare borlengo.

At the museum it is also possible to purchase a “ticket for the Park”, a visit-card that permits the ascent to the Sasso della Croce and the visit to the naturalistic exhibition “The Environments of the Park” located at the Centro Parco Il Fontanazzo.

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APERTURE 2023

Il Museo riapre a partire da domenica 9 Aprile (Pasqua) e segue gli orari di seguito riportati:

Aprile: a partire da domenica 9, domenica e festivi 14.30 - 18.30
Maggio: domenica e festivi 14.30 - 18.30
Giugno: domenica e festivi 14.30 - 18.30
Luglio: sabato 14.30 - 18.30, domenica e festivi 10.00 - 12.00 / 14.30 - 18.30
Agosto: Lunedì chiuso, feriali 14.30 - 18.30, domenica e festivi 10.00 - 12.00 / 14.30 - 18.30
Settembre: domenica e festivi 14.30 - 18.30
Ottobre: sabato 14.30 - 18.30, domenica e festivi 10.00 - 12.00 / 14.30 - 18.30

Ultimo giorno di apertura 2023: 1 novembre 14.30 - 18.30

An indoor and outdoor museum tour dedicated to chestnuts

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