Museum of Pasta facts for kids

The Museum of Pasta (or Museo della pasta in Italian) is a special museum in Italy. It teaches you all about pasta and its history. You can find it in a place called Corte di Giarola. This is near the towns of Collecchio and Ozzano Taro, in the Province of Parma. This area is famous for making and preparing pasta. The Museum of Pasta is in the same building as the Museum of Tomato.

How the Museum Started

In 2001, a group called the Promoting Committee of Food Museums was formed. This group worked with the Association of Food Museums of the Province of Parma. Many different groups joined them, including the Province of Parma itself. Towns like Soragna, Langhirano, and Collecchio also helped. They all wanted to create a network of food museums in the Parma area.

This led to the idea of opening a museum in Corte di Giarola. This old building was once a large medieval farm. It was chosen to host a museum about food, starting with the Museum of Tomato. The Museum of Pasta later joined it in the same location.

Visiting the Museum

The Museum of Pasta is on the ground floor of the west side of Corte di Giarola. This building has a long history. It was used for processing farm products from the Middle Ages until the late 1800s. Later, in the early 1900s, it became a factory for making canned and preserved foods.

The Museum of Pasta officially opened its doors on May 10, 2014. On that day, a special meeting was held. It was called "Pasta: history, culture and gastronomy." Many important people attended, including a famous food journalist named Davide Paolini.

What You Can See

The Museum of Pasta has six main areas, or sections, for visitors to explore.

Growing Grains

The first section shows how grain and cereals have been grown over time. You can see pictures, documents, and models. There are also old farming tools that people used long ago. This part explains how we get the main ingredients for pasta.

Milling Flour

The second area explains how grains are turned into flour. It has displays, models, and even a recreated mill. This section teaches you about the different ways people have ground grain throughout history.

Bread and Baked Goods

The third section focuses on bread and other baked products. It shows how these foods are made from flour.

Homemade Pasta

The fourth section is all about making pasta at home. It displays a collection of small kitchen tools from the past. You can see how people used to make pasta by hand. It also shows the many different shapes and sizes of homemade pasta.

Industrial Pasta Making

The fifth section is very interesting. It has a copy of an industrial pasta factory from the early 1800s. You can also see some old machines used in factories. This part explains how pasta is made on a large scale today. It also shows how more than a hundred types of pasta are formed.

Pasta Culture

Finally, the sixth section explores the rich culture of pasta in Italy. It uses pictures, postcards, and old advertisements. You can also see objects, paintings, stamps, and catalogs. This section shows how important pasta is to Italian life and history.