Museo Nazionale delle Paste Alimentari ( Pasta
Museum )
Behind Piazza Fontana di Trevi at the foot of
the Quiranal Hill is a unique Museum,
the National Pasta Museum, which covers the
eight centuries of history of this staple and
quintessentially Italian dish in eleven display
rooms, with a view to promoting it as a nutritionally
valid and economical alternative in order to resolve
the world food crisis.
Opened in 1993 with the aid of the Vincenzo
Agnesi Foundation, the museum contains a
varied collection of material, which ranges from
old machinery and traditional implements,
such as rolling pins and sieves, to
documentation of the subject in the form of antique
prints, drawings, edicts and
documents regarding taxes on pasta over
the centuries.
From
the wheat to the finished product all
the phases of manufacture (traditional and
industrial), from blending to drying,
are covered in the different rooms, illustrated by
machines which range from the first rudimentary
millstones (such as the kneading machine,
which served to homogenize the mixture of ground wheat
and water) to the modern mixers and the
revolutionary invention of drying techniques, which
have made it possible to keep pasta for years
on end and thus to export it throughout the world.
The
early history of modern bread-making techniques,
creation of the format and baking, which were the heirs
of the traditional techniques, have been brought
back to life and placed in their historical context
through the reconstruction of a proper pasta
factory of the early industrial age, consisting
of five machines in perfect working order,
and documents dating back to 1154 bear witness to the
length of the pasta-making tradition in Italy
and the trading of pasta with Muslim countries.
This
is therefore a little jewel in the history
of Italian custom, which may also be savoured in
its entertaining references in the world of cinema
and theatre, to which two of the rooms are devoted.
These
contain the irresistible photos of Totς
and Alberto Sordi, and also items of interest
such as the "container full of macaroni"
bequeathed in a manuscript of 1279, alongside
the works of modern artists inspired by the
subject: Crista, Latella, Scaglone,
Penel and Di Raco.
Information and Addresses
Address
Piazza Scanderbeg, 117
Visiting Hours Every day from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm
Closed Dec. 25, Jan. 1
Telephone 06 6991119; Fax 06 6991109
Price
10,00; concessions 7,00
For
Tours information
private guided tours special entrances, no
waiting in line - VIP services
www.tourinrome.com
www.vaticanmuseuminformation.com
www.vaticanmuseumticket.com
