The Museum of the Olive Culture, the first public museum of its kind in Italy and in Europe, is housed in the evocative premises of the old Franciscan monastery, which also includes the church of St Francis and a collection of works of arts. The museum is divided into four sections ("Botany", "Getting to know the olive and olive oil", "The olive as a symbol of peace", "The history of the olive") and visitors are given the multiple reading options, using modern communication media. The sketches by Ro Marcerano are intended for children. The texts presenting the olive in history, botany and agronomy complement corresponding tables with data from the National Research Centre. Interactive devices provide information on pressing techniques, while documentary films show the manufacture of the hair sacks in which the olive mush is placed for compression, the phases of high-density cultivation and the process of removing diseased parts of a plant. Visitors have the opportunity to taste olive oil and to learn how to distinguish between difference types, while a section of the museum is dedicated to the chemical reactions that stabilize the acidity of the oil. For those who wish to enrich their cuisine with new and tasty olive and olive-oil dishes, recipes by chef Angelo Paracucchi are available on computer, to download and print. The museum also houses a notable private collection of archaeological finds - kindly loaned by Jean-Pierre and Fiorella Cottier - connected with the symbolic value of the olive and the use of olive oil, a remarkable collection of Phoenician oil lamps (some dating from the 8th century BC). Equally interesting are the collections of vases and ancient objects decorated with olive-related motifs. A big three-screw press (late 17th-early 18th century), and a traditional grindstone complete the visitor's tour.
