In every Italian home, tomatoes are regularly consumed in various forms. Whether it is puree or whole salad tomatoes. Ours is a boundless passion for this vegetable, whose history is very ancient. There is no better place to know it than Collecchio Tomato Museum, in the province of Parma.
Of American origin but with centuries-old roots in the territory, considering how its spread in this province of Emilia Romagna began as early as the nineteenth century. It can be safely said that today, and for a long time now, there is a local variant, considering how we have not limited ourselves to cultivation, carrying out a real transformation. This is demonstrated by the fact that today it is exported all over the world.
Tomato Museum
The headquarters of the Tomato Museum is located inside the Court of Giarola, in Collecchio. A decidedly intriguing place, having been an agri-food processing center in medieval times. In the last century, for 60 years, it was the seat of a tomato preserve industry and today it hosts the Western Emilia Parks and Biodiversity Management Body. All within the territory of the Taro River Regional Park.
Inside the Tomato Museum, the historical events of the tomato will be retraced, from the cultivation techniques used over time to the reconstruction of an ancient canning factory. All this exhibiting the vintage machinery to be rediscovered.
What to know
There are in total seven thematic sections inside the Tomato Museum:
- History of the arrival of the tomato in Europe during the sixteenth century. Widespread in the food culture of our continent, it has developed in different variants with particular nutritional properties.
- Development of the processing industry in the Parma reality. The passage from the dry product to the preserves is analyzed, from the purees to the sauces, up to the juices to drink.
- Analysis of the development of the technologies used in this production area. A total of fourteen vintage cars helps to understand the process of time.
- Look at the finished product, including packaging, with the display of various vintage cans and tubes, promotional material and more of the more than 100 brands active in the twentieth century.
- The development of the mechanical industry which transformed the production phase
- The world of factory work is exhibited and explained in detail, with space also dedicated to the protagonists of the time.
- Analysis of the history of the culture of the Tomato World, concluding the exhibition with paintings, sculptures, quotes, advertising and, unmissable, recipes based on the delicious vegetable.
The Tomato Museum is part of a broad scheme, that of the Food Museums of the province of Parma, all dedicated to the typical products of the area. A way to discover the history behind the tasty dishes ordered in the various prestigious restaurants of Emilia. A huge success that from 2004 to today has registered about 230 thousand visitors. Here are other museums to discover: del Parmesan reggiano of Soragna, del Culatello of Zibello and of Masalén of Polesine, of Salame by Felino, del Prosciutto of Langhirano, del Wine of Sala Baganza and of the Pasta of Giarola.
Photo source: https://www.instagram.com/museidelcibo/
