Kore Siciliae Experiences

This itinerary begins at the Visitor Centre in Nissoria, which houses the Ethno-anthropological and rural culture museum, featuring an extensive collection that recounts the history and traditions of rural life. This collection includes an ancient oil mill, which welcomes visitors and, alongside wheat, symbolises the area’s primary resources.

Having followed the traces of both recent and distant past, we must ask ourselves what it means to live in this area today. The itinerary then follows the common thread of those who have chosen to stay – heirs to past generations – transforming their work into a shared and sustainable model.

This is an invitation to discover the Kore Siciliae consortium through the practices and stories that populate the ecomuseum network: artistic craftsmanship capable of revitalising traditional knowledge, advanced agriculture that recovers ancient crops, and nature and environmental guides who act within the community and in tourism hospitality as drivers of social innovation and territorial promotion.

Far from the most frequented tourist routes, this experiential itinerary winds through the countryside and inland towns of the island and the Mediterranean. These are places which, despite the challenges of depopulation and damaging development models, are charting out different prospects thanks to the determination of those who remain – those who embody a responsible rootedness in place, renewing local knowledge and proposing a possible future.

A collection of stories and places to explore step by step. The interactive map offers a guided journey through the ecomuseum network, following a narrative itinerary.

Ethno-anthropological and rural culture museum

This museum features a wide collection that recounts the traditions and lifestyle of the rural civilisation of Nissoria. The old oil mill, which welcomes visitors at the entrance, stands as a symbol of the area’s primary resources, alongside wheat. Many of the objects on display have been generously donated by local residents, contributing to the museum’s permanent exhibition. The exhibition begins with a representation of local popular and religious culture: the statue of the revered Saint Anthony the Abbot. The museum features seven themed rooms, each dedicated to a different stage of the wheat production cycle, showcasing the practical skills involved in cultivation, processing, preservation and transformation. These skills reflect the cultural identity and heritage of the community. Among the items on display are sickles, billhooks, complete wooden and iron ploughs, scaliddi (small ladders used to load the harvest onto donkeys or mules), iron saddles, ancina and ancinedda (tools for gathering sheaves of wheat), jars, oil cruets, shovels, foot warmers, braziers, lamps, dishes and cutlery. Another section is dedicated to ancient crafts, featuring tools used by blacksmiths, carpenters, shoemakers and barbers. One room has been arranged to recreate the domestic environment of a rural family featuring a stone oven and an early 20th-century bedroom. The museum also includes objects related to leisure, industrial archaeology and sacred themes.

Nissoria

Kore Craftsmanship – Giuliana Franco’s Workshop

Leonforte

Agricultural company Agrirape

Leonforte

Angelo Scalzo’s restoration workshop

Enna

F.Lli D’angelo historic dairy

Valguarnera

Discover the podcast Storie di Restanza