Nato in continuità di intenti con l’ideazione del Museo del Vino dalla Fondazione Lungarotti, il Museo dell’Olivo e dell’Olio di Torgiano è situato in un piccolo nucleo di abitazioni medioevali all’interno delle mura castellane.
Si tratta di un antico frantoio, ristrutturato secondo uno scrupoloso recupero architettonico, che ospita collezioni etnografiche, artistiche e archeologiche dedicate al mondo dell’olio.
Il Museo accoglie infatti il visitatore guidandolo nella scoperta di tutti i segreti della coltivazione delle olive e della produzione dell’olio, inclusi gli usi remoti, curiosi, a volte poco conosciuti.
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>> Vieni a Torgiano e visita il particolare Museo delle Olive e dell’Olio. Trovi qui i migliori agriturismi!
Il Museo dell’Olivo e dell’Olio
Il percorso si snoda lungo dieci sale e si apre con informazioni redatte dal C.N.R. sulle caratteristiche botaniche dell’olivo, sulle cultivar più diffuse in Umbria, sulle tecniche tradizionali e d’avanguardia di messa a coltura e di estrazione dell’olio.
Le sale successive, ambientate nei locali che furono già sede di un frantoio, attivo fino a pochi decenni fa e testimoniato dalla presenza di un grande camino, ospitano una ricca documentazione relativa alla storia ed alla evoluzione delle macchine olearie: dai primi mortai in pietra, risalenti al V millennio a.C., via via, correndo lungo i secoli, alla introduzione del trapetum, l’ampia vasca di probabile origine greca definitivamente utilizzata e diffusa dai Romani, fino alle più complesse macchine a trazione animale o idraulica ed alla invenzione del sistema “a ciclo continuo” che ha segnato l’avvio per la nuova elaiotecnica.
Il percorso prosegue nei due piani superiori, dove la presenza dell’olio e dell’olivo nel quotidiano, gli usi e le valenze ad essi attribuiti nel corso del tempo sono documentati in sezioni che sviluppano i temi relativi alla mitologica origine della pianta, all’impiego dell’olio come fonte di illuminazione, nei rituali delle grandi religioni monoteiste occidentali, nella medicina e nella alimentazione, nello sport, nella cosmesi, come fonte di riscaldamento e come elemento significativo di un immaginario popolare che alla pianta e al prodotto derivato dal suo frutto ha attribuito – e in parte ancora attribuisce – valenze simboliche, propiziatorie, apotropaiche e curative.
La sala V, dedicata ad Athena, divinità cui si deve il dono dell’olivo agli uomini, espone, accanto a diversi oggetti che richiamano ai vari attributi della dea, un prezioso alábastron attico in ceramica a figure rosse, firmato dal Pittore della Fonderia e risalente al V secolo a.C.; l’oggetto, di straordinario interesse per l’abilità dell’artista, ritrae Athena nell’atto di ricevere lo scudo recante l’effige della civetta (suo primo emblema) dalle mani del metallurgo che lo ha creato.
Di fronte, a significare l’uso remotissimo di lucerne votive, affiancata da una scheda scientifica di Mario Torelli, è esposta una lucerna trilicne del VII secolo a.C., marmorea, superbo esempio di arte dedalica. La raccolta di lucerne, che da età preclassica giunge al tardo neoclassicismo, ha esempi degni di attenzione: dalla bilicne romana in bronzo, ageminata in argento e rame, al piccolo putto bronzeo rinascimentale, alle due preziose lucerne da scala fiorentine, datate XVI secolo. Interessanti per tecniche e stili rappresentati, indicativi di correnti di gusto sensibili al mito della antichità e dell’esotismo, il gruppo delle “neoclassiche” comprende lucerne da parata che vanno dalla “fiorentina” in vetro, da Murano, alle “romane”, provenienti dalle maggiori botteghe di argentieri e bronzisti, caratterizzate da sculture che conoscono all’epoca una grande diffusione: così il Mercurio che corre sul soffio del Vento, o l’egizio, che rimanda alle campagne napoleoniche. Oliere e salsiere, ampolle per profumi e balsamari, bellissimo l’unguentario egizio in alabastro risalente al 1500 a.C. bracieri e scaldini, testi dotti ed oggetti di manifattura popolare testimoniano il ricorrere all’olio nei secoli per i diversi usi.
Al termine del percorso museale, un corridoio di proverbi e detti legati all’olio conduce alla visione di una grande tavola raffigurante un campo di olivi al vento, indicativo della attenzione al paesaggio che sottende la ricerca che ha portato alla creazione del museo.
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Orari di apertura del Museo:
Lunedì e martedì dalle ore 9,00 alle 13,00 e dalle 15,00 alle 19,00.
Dal mercoledì al venerdì orario continuato dalle ore 9,00 alle 19,00 (aperto a pranzo)
Sabato orario continuato dalle ore 9,30 alle 18,00 (aperto a pranzo).
Domenica orario continuato dalle 10,00 alle 17,00.
Created as a companion collection to the Wine Museum by Lungarotti Fundation, the Olive and Oil Museum is located in a small nucleus of medieval houses within the town walls.
Olive oil as a significant element in cultural imagery, which has attributed it symbolic, propitiatory and curative values. On display are artworks and historical finds regarding the mythological origins of the olive tree, the use of oil as a source of light and heat, in religion, medicine and nutrition, in sports and cosmetics.
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The Olive and Oil Museum
The museum covers ten rooms and opens with information provided by the National Research Council on the botanic characteristics of olive trees, the most common cultivars in Umbria, traditional and avant-garde techniques for cultivating and extracting the oil.
The subsequent rooms, that were once the home of an oil mill active until a few decades ago and graced with a large fireplace, have a rich documentation regarding the history and evolution of olive oil equipment: from the first stone mortars of the 5th millennium B.C: across the centuries to the introduction of the trapetum, the large vat of probable Greek origin adopted by the Romans, up to the most complex machines using animal or hydraulic traction, to the invention of the continuous cycle which heralded the new olive oil technology.
The museum continues on the two upper floors showing the presence of oil and olive trees in daily life, as well as the use and value attributed to them over time. These themes are documented in sections regarding the mythological origin of the plant, the use of oil as a source of light, in the rituals of the great monotheistic western religions, in medicine, in nutrition, in sports, in cosmetics, as a source of heat and as a significant element in popular imagery which has attributed and in part still attributes, symbolic, propitiatory, apotropaic and curative values to the plant and to the product of its fruit.
Room V, dedicated to Athena, the goddess who reputedly gave the gift of the olive tree to man, displays, alongside various objects that recall the goddess’s attributes, a precious Attic alábastron in red-figure pottery, signed by the Foundry Painter and dating to the 5th cent. B.C. The vase, of extraordinary interest due to the artist’s craftsmanship, depicts Athena in the act of receiving the shield with an owl design (her primary emblem) from the hands of the ironsmith who crafted it for her. In front of the alabastron, there is a trilobate oil lamp from the 7th cent. B.C., a superb example of Dedalic art representing the remote use of votive oil lamps, alongside a scientific text by Mario Torelli.
The collection of oil lamps, ranging from the pre-classic period to late neoclassicism, has some noteworthy examples: from the Roman bilobate bronze lamp, damasked in silver and copper, to the small bronze Renaissance putto, to the two precious staircase lamps from the 16th century. Interesting due to their techniques and styles, indicative of a taste for the myths of antiquity and exoticism , the group of neoclassic includes display lamps including the “fiorentina” lamp in Murano glass to the “romana” lamp from the major silver and bronze workshops characterized by sculptures that are very popular at the time, such as Mercury running on the wind, or the Egyptian figure which recalls the Napoleonic campaigns. Oil cruets and sauce boats, ampoules for perfumes and ointment, the Egyptian unguentary vase dated 1500 B.C. braziers and warmers, learned texts and popular handicrafts show the many uses of oil over the centuries.
At the end of the museum a hallway of proverbs and sayings related to olive oil leads the way to a large painting depicting a field of olive trees in the wind, indicating the attention to the landscape which underlined the research leading up to the museum’s creation.
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Practical Informations
Opening hours of the Museum:
* Octobre – March: 10 am – 1 pm / 3 pm – 5 pm; from Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Monday)
* April – June: 10 am – 1 pm / 3 pm – 6 pm; from Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Monday)
* July – Septembre: 10 am – 6 pm; all days
NB: The Museum is closed on 25 December.
If you are in Torgiano, we will suggest you to visit also the Wine Museum
–> Click here for all informations
Created as a companion collection to the Wine Museum by Lungarotti Fundation, the Olive and Oil Museum is located in a small nucleus of medieval houses within the town walls.
Olive oil as a significant element in cultural imagery, which has attributed it symbolic, propitiatory and curative values. On display are artworks and historical finds regarding the mythological origins of the olive tree, the use of oil as a source of light and heat, in religion, medicine and nutrition, in sports and cosmetics.
![]()
The Olive and Oil Museum
The museum covers ten rooms and opens with information provided by the National Research Council on the botanic characteristics of olive trees, the most common cultivars in Umbria, traditional and avant-garde techniques for cultivating and extracting the oil.
The subsequent rooms, that were once the home of an oil mill active until a few decades ago and graced with a large fireplace, have a rich documentation regarding the history and evolution of olive oil equipment: from the first stone mortars of the 5th millennium B.C: across the centuries to the introduction of the trapetum, the large vat of probable Greek origin adopted by the Romans, up to the most complex machines using animal or hydraulic traction, to the invention of the continuous cycle which heralded the new olive oil technology.
The museum continues on the two upper floors showing the presence of oil and olive trees in daily life, as well as the use and value attributed to them over time. These themes are documented in sections regarding the mythological origin of the plant, the use of oil as a source of light, in the rituals of the great monotheistic western religions, in medicine, in nutrition, in sports, in cosmetics, as a source of heat and as a significant element in popular imagery which has attributed and in part still attributes, symbolic, propitiatory, apotropaic and curative values to the plant and to the product of its fruit.
Room V, dedicated to Athena, the goddess who reputedly gave the gift of the olive tree to man, displays, alongside various objects that recall the goddess’s attributes, a precious Attic alábastron in red-figure pottery, signed by the Foundry Painter and dating to the 5th cent. B.C. The vase, of extraordinary interest due to the artist’s craftsmanship, depicts Athena in the act of receiving the shield with an owl design (her primary emblem) from the hands of the ironsmith who crafted it for her. In front of the alabastron, there is a trilobate oil lamp from the 7th cent. B.C., a superb example of Dedalic art representing the remote use of votive oil lamps, alongside a scientific text by Mario Torelli.
The collection of oil lamps, ranging from the pre-classic period to late neoclassicism, has some noteworthy examples: from the Roman bilobate bronze lamp, damasked in silver and copper, to the small bronze Renaissance putto, to the two precious staircase lamps from the 16th century. Interesting due to their techniques and styles, indicative of a taste for the myths of antiquity and exoticism , the group of neoclassic includes display lamps including the “fiorentina” lamp in Murano glass to the “romana” lamp from the major silver and bronze workshops characterized by sculptures that are very popular at the time, such as Mercury running on the wind, or the Egyptian figure which recalls the Napoleonic campaigns. Oil cruets and sauce boats, ampoules for perfumes and ointment, the Egyptian unguentary vase dated 1500 B.C. braziers and warmers, learned texts and popular handicrafts show the many uses of oil over the centuries.
At the end of the museum a hallway of proverbs and sayings related to olive oil leads the way to a large painting depicting a field of olive trees in the wind, indicating the attention to the landscape which underlined the research leading up to the museum’s creation.
![]()
Practical Informations
Opening hours of the Museum:
* Octobre – March: 10 am – 1 pm / 3 pm – 5 pm; from Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Monday)
* April – June: 10 am – 1 pm / 3 pm – 6 pm; from Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Monday)
* July – Septembre: 10 am – 6 pm; all days
NB: The Museum is closed on 25 December.
If you are in Torgiano, we will suggest you to visit also the Wine Museum
–> Click here for all informations
Né en continuité d’intentions avec l’idée du Musée du Vin avec la Lungarotti Fundation, le Musée de l’Olive et de l’Huile de Torgiano est situé au sein d’un petit centre d’habitations médiévales à l’intérieur des murs.
Le Musée accueille et guide le visiteur pour lui faire découvrir tous les secrets de la culture de l’olivier et de la production de l’huile, y compris les emplois plus particuliers, curieux, parfois peu connus.
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Le Musée de l’Olive et de l’Huile
Le parcours se déroule tout au long de dix salles et s’ouvre avec des informations rédigées par le C.N.R. sur les caractéristiques botaniques de l’olive, sur les cultivations les plus répandues en Ombrie, sur les techniques traditionnelles et d’avant-garde de culture et d’extraction de l’huile.
Les salles successives, situées dans les locaux qui furent le siège d’un pressoir en activité jusqu’à il y a quelques décennies et dont en témoigne la présence d’une grande cheminée, accueillent une riche documentation relative à l’histoire et à l’évolution des machines de production de l’huile: depuis les premiers mortiers en pierre, datant du V millénaire avant jésus-Christ en passant, petit à petit au cours des siècles, à l’introduction du trapetum, le grand bac d’origine grec utilisé et diffusé par les Romains, jusqu’aux machines les plus complexes à traction animale ou hydraulique et à l’invention du système “à cycle continue”.
Le parcours continue sur les deux étages supérieurs, où la présence de l’huile et de l’olive dans le quotidien, les emplois et les coutumes qui leur sont attribués au cours du temps sont documentés dans des sections qui développent les thèmes relatifs à la mythologique origine de la plante, à l’emploi de l’huile comme source d’illumination, dans les rituels des grandes religions monotéistes occidentales, en médecine et dans l’alimentation, dans le sport, dans la cosmétologie, comme source de chauffage et comme élément significatif d’un imaginaire populaire qui a attribué à la plante et au produit dérivé de son fruit et en partie attribue encore, des valeurs symboliques, propitiatrices et guérisseuses.
La salle V, dédiée à Athena, divinité à qui on doit le don de l’olive aux hommes, présente, à côté de divers objets qui rappellent les divers attribus de la déesse, un précieux albâtre en céramique à figures rouges, signé par le Peintre de la Fonderie et datant du V siècle avant Jésus-Christ; l’objet, d’intérêt extraordinaire pour l’habileté de l’artiste, fait le portrait d’Athena qui reçoit le bouclier à l’effigie de la chouette (son premier emblème) des mains du métallurgiste qui l’a créé. En face, signifiant l’utilisation très anciennes de lampes à huile votives, avec une fiche scientifique de Mario Torelli, est exposée une lampe à huile du VII siècle avant Jésus-Christ, en marbre, superbe exemple d’art.
La récolte des lampes à huile, qui depuis l’ère pré-classique arrive jusqu’au néo-classicisme tardif, a des exemples dignes d’importance: de la bilicne romaine en bronze, damasquinée en argent et en cuivre, à la petite Madonne en bronze de la Renaissance, jusqu’au deux précieuses lampes à huile florentines, datant du XVI siècle. Intéressants de par leurs techniques et leurs styles représentatifs, indiquant des courants de goût sensibles au mythe de l’antiquité et de l’exotisme, le groupe des “néo-classiques” comprend des lampes à huile de mur qui vont de la “florentine” en verre, de Murano, aux “romaines”, provenant des plus importantes boutiques d’argentiers et de travailleurs du bronze, charactérisées par des sculptures qui connaissent à l’époque une large diffusion: ainsi le Mercure qui court sur le souffle du Vent, ou l’égyptien, qui renvoit aux campagnes napoléoniennes. Huilières et saucières, burettes pour parfums, l’égyptien en albâtre datant de 1500 avant Jésus-Christ est très beau brasero et chaufferette, textes et objets de manufacture populaire témoigne de l’importance de l’huile au cours des siècles pour les divers usages.
Au terme du parcours du musée, un couloir de proverbes et dictons liés à l’huile conduit à la vision d’un grand tableau représentant un champ d’oliviers au vent, indicatif en ce qui concerne l’attention au paysage qui sous-tend la recherche qui a porté à la création du musée.
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Informations pratiques
Horaires d’ouverture du Musée:
* Octobre – Mars: 10-13 / 15-17 ; du Mardi au Dimanche (fermé le Lundi)
* Avril – Juin: 10-13 / 15-18 ; du Mardi au Dimanche (fermé le Lundi)
* Juillet – Septembre: 10 – 18; toute la semaine
NB: Le Musée est fermé le 25 Décembre
Created as a companion collection to the Wine Museum by Lungarotti Fundation, the Olive and Oil Museum is located in a small nucleus of medieval houses within the town walls.
Olive oil as a significant element in cultural imagery, which has attributed it symbolic, propitiatory and curative values. On display are artworks and historical finds regarding the mythological origins of the olive tree, the use of oil as a source of light and heat, in religion, medicine and nutrition, in sports and cosmetics.
![]()
The Olive and Oil Museum
The museum covers ten rooms and opens with information provided by the National Research Council on the botanic characteristics of olive trees, the most common cultivars in Umbria, traditional and avant-garde techniques for cultivating and extracting the oil.
The subsequent rooms, that were once the home of an oil mill active until a few decades ago and graced with a large fireplace, have a rich documentation regarding the history and evolution of olive oil equipment: from the first stone mortars of the 5th millennium B.C: across the centuries to the introduction of the trapetum, the large vat of probable Greek origin adopted by the Romans, up to the most complex machines using animal or hydraulic traction, to the invention of the continuous cycle which heralded the new olive oil technology.
The museum continues on the two upper floors showing the presence of oil and olive trees in daily life, as well as the use and value attributed to them over time. These themes are documented in sections regarding the mythological origin of the plant, the use of oil as a source of light, in the rituals of the great monotheistic western religions, in medicine, in nutrition, in sports, in cosmetics, as a source of heat and as a significant element in popular imagery which has attributed and in part still attributes, symbolic, propitiatory, apotropaic and curative values to the plant and to the product of its fruit.
Room V, dedicated to Athena, the goddess who reputedly gave the gift of the olive tree to man, displays, alongside various objects that recall the goddess’s attributes, a precious Attic alábastron in red-figure pottery, signed by the Foundry Painter and dating to the 5th cent. B.C. The vase, of extraordinary interest due to the artist’s craftsmanship, depicts Athena in the act of receiving the shield with an owl design (her primary emblem) from the hands of the ironsmith who crafted it for her. In front of the alabastron, there is a trilobate oil lamp from the 7th cent. B.C., a superb example of Dedalic art representing the remote use of votive oil lamps, alongside a scientific text by Mario Torelli.
The collection of oil lamps, ranging from the pre-classic period to late neoclassicism, has some noteworthy examples: from the Roman bilobate bronze lamp, damasked in silver and copper, to the small bronze Renaissance putto, to the two precious staircase lamps from the 16th century. Interesting due to their techniques and styles, indicative of a taste for the myths of antiquity and exoticism , the group of neoclassic includes display lamps including the “fiorentina” lamp in Murano glass to the “romana” lamp from the major silver and bronze workshops characterized by sculptures that are very popular at the time, such as Mercury running on the wind, or the Egyptian figure which recalls the Napoleonic campaigns. Oil cruets and sauce boats, ampoules for perfumes and ointment, the Egyptian unguentary vase dated 1500 B.C. braziers and warmers, learned texts and popular handicrafts show the many uses of oil over the centuries.
At the end of the museum a hallway of proverbs and sayings related to olive oil leads the way to a large painting depicting a field of olive trees in the wind, indicating the attention to the landscape which underlined the research leading up to the museum’s creation.
![]()
Practical Informations
Opening hours of the Museum:
* Octobre – March: 10 am – 1 pm / 3 pm – 5 pm; from Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Monday)
* April – June: 10 am – 1 pm / 3 pm – 6 pm; from Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Monday)
* July – Septembre: 10 am – 6 pm; all days
NB: The Museum is closed on 25 December.
If you are in Torgiano, we will suggest you to visit also the Wine Museum
–> Click here for all informations
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