Museum of Rural Civilization in Ruffano

The Museum of Peasant Civilization, founded in 2002, is housed on the ground floor of the eighteenth-century Palazzo Pasanisi di Torrepaduli to create a cultural center in the town both for the locals and tourists. The museum consists of 10 rooms: in some rooms the original use has been preserved, others have been renovated for workshops. The museum offers visitors the opportunity for an interesting journey into the rural civilization of Salento from the late 1800s until a few decades ago. 

The museum not only serves to preserve objects, tools, toys… but is also the venue for cultural events and performances. Every year a characteristic living nativity scene is held inside, sponsored by the municipality, the province, and the region, now successfully reaching its seventh edition. The museum, besides being a place for the enhancement and protection of the ethno-anthropological cultural heritage, carries out an educational role through targeted workshop activities aimed at understanding the various aspects of rural civilization.