Museo MINE - Museum of mines and the territory of Cavriglia

The museum complex documents and promotes the history of the territory of Cavriglia and, in particular, the mining events that have profoundly affected a significant portion of our territory.

It is housed in several buildings of the old village of Castelnuovo dei Sabbioni. The rest of the old
village was abandoned and partially destroyed by mining. Some houses in ruins surround the road that leads to the top of the village, which includes some buildings recently recovered in museum spaces: the former church of San Donato, used as a multi-purpose space, the exhibition centre and a building of the 20s used as a documentation centre and as a space for educational activities.

The mission of the museum is strongly characterized by the involvement of the viewer in the various exhibition spaces which have been arranged for a careful appreciation of the preserved cultural heritage, with the possibility of further enrichment through special exhibitions in the nave of San Donato.

The museum is spread across seven rooms dedicated to the history and mining vicissitudes according to a process that, from the events of the nineteenth century – the birth of the Municipality of Cavriglia and the beginning of mining – moves on to document mining in the twentieth century, first underground then with open-pit mines. It is interspersed with some fundamental facts pertaining to the social history of the area, such as the massacres of 1944 and the long struggles of the post-war period. This event takes place through the interaction with modern technologies allowing the visitor to be an active player in the learning process.

Special attention is paid to the younger generations and in particular to schools. The program of the museum provides for, in addition to guided tours, special educational workshops in order to facilitate an in-depth study of the issues on display in this exhibition.