Assisi and its arts and craftsmuseum

Do you know this sensational, exited feeling when you discover a completely new spot located where you never expected it? This happened to me. I visit Assisi a few times each year for the past twenty years, showing the city to my guests or sometimes just to have a quick look at the Santo Stefano and its small garden (my favourite church in Assisi).

Assisi of course is a `no-to-be-missed` city when you are lucky enough to be in Umbria. This time though, I particularly enjoyed it because I found the 

Museo Arti e Mestieri dell´Umbria.

Founded by Davide Costantini and inaugurated in 2012, the museum tells the story of the Umbrian citizens´ daily lives, rich or poor, and the every day objects they used.

(c) Jan Vos

The museum is situated half way the Corso Mazzini, right next to the San Francesco Piccolino in the eponymous square. It´s a unique spot, not only because Assisi´s worldfamous saint San Francesco was born there, but also because inside the museum you will find the remains of a medieval house.

In the middle of it, there´s a medieval well, it shows an aquaduct and it has medieval walls as well as remains of the original pavement.

I could think of no better location to show the tools that were used in the kitchen at those times, covering not only the Middle Ages but a larger period as well, or the furniture people used in their homes, like a table dated at 1400, but one can also admired the toys used to keep the children busy.

Some of the exhibited possessions are really rare and shall not easily be found anywhere else.

Which means that even now, I felt jealous of a few objects shown, like the fabrics that must have been of an excellent quality, considering de state they´re in ages later.

An especially nice gesture you become when leaving the museum: an attest, signed by both the founder, Assisi´s mayor and the Regionn of Umbria on which you can fill your own name.

If you want to learn more and see a lot better pictures:

The museum´s entrance is free. It´s open every day from 9-13.00 and 13.00-18.00.

Its website is very informative.