» Welcome
The museum is located in Salento at Castello Monaci (near Salice Salentino), next to the historic castle of the same name, which is now an elegant, up-market venue for cultural events, conferences, meetings and receptions.
Housed in a wine-producing facility dating from the 1930s, the museum offers a series of exhibits, all of which originally came from the vineyard to which the building belongs.
They testify to the agricultural lifestyle, the process of wine production and the ways and customs of domestic life in a typical home in rural Salento. Alongside these exhibits, there is a photo gallery and an informative illustrated guide describing the long journey of the wine grape from the Caucasus to the Mediterranean, presenting the indigenous grape varieties and telling the story of what was once called “blending wine”, before the wines of Salento became famous and proved their quality in the global marketplace.
Illustrated panels also document the vocabulary of wine in traditional Salento dialects.
Particular attention is paid to the vessels used for drinking, their forms and the specific functions they have taken on within the customs and traditions linked to the local production of ceramics. The photo gallery is of special historic value in that it shows previously unseen images by the photographer Giuseppe Palumbo. The original plates and films, dating from between 1909 and 1932, are held at the Provincial Museum in Lecce.
Within the Wine Museum, there is also an area dedicated to the wines and other traditional products of the Terra d’Arneo, where you can make purchases or take part in a guided tasting session.
