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DEMO ETHNO-ANTHROPOLOGICAL MUSEUM ON PEASANT CIVILIZATION

of SALENTO.

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There are many collections on the peasant civilization of Salento in the province of Lecce.
What differentiates us from everyone else is undoubtedly the uniqueness of the exhibition and the scientific method that was used in setting it up and which is used during the different fruition paths available.
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The various everyday objects, having abandoned their original use, take on the role of "communicative objects", useful for encouraging dialogue and storytelling with visitors. Through them it will therefore be possible to understand the social and cultural dynamics of a generation of Salento people who for a long time characterized and shaped the identity of the territory.

The ethnographic exhibition on the rural civilization of Salento was inaugurated on 16 October 2010 on the occasion of the VI Festival of Small Municipalities of Italy, and its updating ended in December 2025. It remains a fascinating "community museum" as it was built with objects donated by the population who saw fit to "give up" a piece of their family identity, to create a collective and unique identity.

Palazzo Lubelli and its ethnographic section were designed to be lived in, presenting themselves as a crossroads of dialogues and relationships, as a daily meeting place, overcoming the concept of the museum as a separate place, to become a reality fully inserted in the contemporary urban context.
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THE MUSEUM
The only Salento museum for which the exhibited pieces are registered and cataloged by SIGEC, the catalog institute of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.
The scientific direction is entrusted to the anthropologist Prof. Eugenio Imbriani.
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Crossing the exhibition you take a journey into the customs and agricultural practices of Salento from the 16th century to the 1970s, making a journey which, using everyday objects, best describes what the agricultural society was like with the complexities, customs and economy of the reference period.

Objects of daily use, abandoning the use for which they were conceived, take on the role of "bridge objects" capable of interpreting and photographing the reference era in the best possible way: we move from a society that marks its time through the seasons also using water, fire or wind, as work tools, to a society that, gradually over time, transforms agricultural habits and practices by inserting new tools and tools, introducing new practices and the use of chemical elements.
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Each object on display tells many stories in addition to its own: from the cart for transporting hay and agricultural products you can immerse yourself in the songs of the "trainieri"; through the barber's tools one can be introduced to "barbershop music"; approaching the loom you can get lost in the ancient history that links Giuggianello to weaving, to the spindle and to the time governed by the Greek "Fates or Moirai", to the point of being an instrument that served the economy and social position of the Salento woman.
The advent of the Second World War and the consequent arrival of the Anglo-Americans, marks the introduction of new lifestyles in the society of the time which discovers new objects and new foods available and within everyone's reach, transforms meeting points such as the "puteche" (typical shops where they used to dine with local wine and horse meat), the use of chemistry in agriculture, the echo of radio and television, for example, will introduce new sounds, ways of saying and cultivating earth.
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Going through the entire exhibition you will realize how even the smallest and most common things can be a great vehicle capable of telling the complexity and charm of an era and entire generations.
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"Let everyone consider how much value, how much meaning is contained in even the smallest of our daily habits, in the hundred objects of ours that the humblest beggar possesses: a handkerchief, a letter, a photograph of a loved one. These things are part of us, almost like members of our body; nor is it conceivable that we would be deprived of them in our world, as we would immediately find others to replace the old ones, other objects that are ours as custodians and arousers of our memories" .
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The visit experience is enriched by a series of QR codes placed along the route: by framing them, you will be able to access extra content and be enveloped by sounds and suggestions capable of transmitting deep emotions.
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Entrance to the Museum costs €2.50 per person.

Entrance is free for children aged 6 and/or under

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For  Giuggianello residents, entry is free.

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A discount is available for organized groups and schools. Request it from here.

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Ask for more information on 0836 444 266 (also WhatsApp)