Agricultural History Workshop - University Centre for Scientific Museums (C.A.M.S.) at the University of Perugia
The Workshop, which was established in 2010, aims to retrace the most important steps in the evolution of agriculture and agrarian science in Umbria, and the rest of Europe, over the past two centuries. The collections on display deal with agrarian machinery, such as equipment for tillage, harvesting, and the processing of produce. The museum collections originate from the Regio agricultural equipment repository; the Foundation for Agricultural Education in Perugia, and a donation from the Banca Etruria. The Regio repository was a ministerial structure established in 1898, in order to allow farmers and landowners to make use of modern machinery; for this purpose the repository was supplied with machinery from abroad, such as American, British, German and French equipment. Exceptionally, the equipment still features the original paintwork, and the original text and decals, which increases its historical and documentary value. The machinery from the Foundation for Agricultural Education conserved at the workshop is of particular interest, as it originates from the company that surrounds the museum, and offers testimony to the history of one of the largest estates in the region. The third source of equipment is the result of a contribution by Banca Etruria, which has made it possible to greatly expand some of the areas on display, in particular those featuring the processing of agricultural products and the crafts associated with the rural community. The historic value of the machinery from Banca Etruria also made it possible to expand the timeline of the collections, which would otherwise have been limited to the period between the end of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century. The mechanical and agricultural engineering section is just part of the collection housed at the workshop. Also of interest is the considerable zootechnical collection of the Museum of Animal Husbandry at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences. The exhibition of zootechnical and cultivation artefacts outside the museum, which deals with the main agricultural crops, will in the future make it possible to provide a comprehensive overview of the development of agrarian science, integrating the three main factors in agricultural production: plants, animals and machinery. The collections testify to the passage from wood based technology, drawn by animals, to a technology based on the use of steel and the internal combustion engine. The exhibition is divided into the following sections: a) the earliest soil cultivation; b) the refinement of the soil and other agricultural operations; c) the forage revolution; d) the collection of tubers, roots and cereals; e) The transformation of agricultural products and crafts related to agriculture.
LIST OF SERVICES
At the moment, the Agricultural History Workshop is part of the University Centre for Scientific Museums (C.A.M.S.) at the University of Perugia, and can be visited by students at every level. Guided tours are available on request.
OPENING HOURS:
Tuesdays and Thursdays
14.30 - 16.30
