The Museum-Workshop of Peasant Culture (Museo Laboratorio della Civiltà Contadina) is a small museum in Matera’s Sassi, housed in a series of historic rock-cut rooms. Household objects, farming implements and artisan tools evoke the routines of the families who once lived and worked in these cave neighbourhoods.
The collection offers a close look at a rural world shaped by hard labour and scarce resources. Many Sassi families lived in crowded conditions, sometimes alongside their animals, before poor sanitation and poverty prompted large-scale relocation in the mid-twentieth century. The museum adds human detail to a city whose cave districts later gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 1993.
This is a worthwhile stop for understanding the ordinary lives behind Matera’s remarkable landscape. Allow around an hour, and pair it with a walk through the Sassi’s lanes and viewpoints. Wear shoes with good grip for the uneven stone streets and steps, and check opening hours locally before visiting, as they can change.