Villanova Monteleone, Ethnographic Museum “Sa Domo Manna”

It is set up on the ground floor of the “Palatu 'e Sas Iscolas”, a building completed in 1896, and located in the historic center of the town. The exhibition aims to highlight three activities that have characterized the life of the town and that are still present in the agro-pastoral and domestic sectors: baking, cheese processing and weaving. The topics, developed individually in three sections, accompany the visitor to the knowledge of the processing phases that, from the raw material (wheat, milk, wool) to the finished product (bread, cheese, fabric). The objects bear witness to a society that has been able to preserve its culture for a long time and that still feels the need to keep it alive today. The itinerary opens with a model that depicts the traditional house of Villanova Monteleone. Developed in height (up to four floors) and equipped with a stable, it housed one or two families of shepherds or farmers. On the ground floor there was the barn or the closet for the wood and the frame, while the basement was the shelter for the hens and the pig. On the ground floor were the bedroom and the kitchen where bread was prepared weekly. The rooms were heated with a brazier, also used to dry clothes and around which the evenings were spent telling stories and legends. In the loggia outside the house, the donkey for grinding wheat was placed.
The first section illustrates with original tools and specimens, the entire process of baking: from sowing to baked goods. The second section describes the cheese cycle, also proposing the reconstruction of the “pinnetta”, a pastoral shelter traditionally used for this type of production. The third section is dedicated to weaving. The entire wool processing process is illustrated, from the shearing of the sheep to the product made to the loom, which was of the horizontal type. It also describes the processing of linen, widespread among the families of Villanova Monteleone until 1940. With the precious part of the linen, sheets and tablecloths were made for the kit, while with the raw part, the fabrics of the bags intended to contain wheat were obtained. It has no architectural barriers.

Why it's important to visit it
The objects bear witness to a society that has been able to preserve its culture for a long time and that still feels the need to keep it alive today. The highlight consists of the “Journey” through the three sections that allow the knowledge of the processing phases of the three raw materials: bread, cheese and fabric.