The tradition says that the edifice, built by
Arabs, was, for a few centuries, inhabited by monks who
used it as paper mill, wool spinning and skins
tannery (it is still possible to see collection basins,
terracotta channels and remains of several structures in wood).
The museum of the ancient local civilization exposes
household goods, work tools and furniture used from the last
centuries to today.
A collection made of little things, simple proofs which
provoke respect and emotion, innumerable finds which are testimonies, charming symbols, of a daily live.
All that has been catalogued with infinite care according to the themes of
domestic, craftsman or agricultural work.
The restoration plan of the old buildings, the recovery and restoration of
ancient structures in lava and sandstone, and the parallel project of
safeguard and recovery of the zoological, botanical and agricultural
property, was started about 1975 thanks to the brilliant
initiative of a private citizen (mister Zino Lombardo).
Of the ancient buildings were restructured the paper mill, the furnace,
the eighteenth-century Masseria and the striking Lookout
Tower. |