Ten Unique Museums in Umbria, in central Italy

Umbria is also home to a great number of interesting and unique museums that are definitely worth visiting. Here are just a few:

1. The Oil Museum in Torgiano, in the south of Umbria, opened in 2000 and has a rich documentation regarding the history and evolution of oil equipment and the production of the region’s most famous olive oils.
2. The Mummies of Ferentillo is a macabre exhibition of naturally preserved bodies buried beneath the Church of Santo Stefano, dating back to the 1500’s. Bodies buried there were preserved by a rare microfungus that attacked the corpses and turned them into mummies. Used as a burial ground, these bodies were discovered during the Napoleonic rule when burials were forbidden within the boundaries of towns and villages. The bodies include adults, children, priests and pilgrims, many with hair, beards, skin and teeth intact and a few even have clothes.
3. The Museum of Miniatures, located in the old town centre of Citta di Castello, houses a wonderful collection of nativity scenes and townscapes crafted in perfect miniature detail. The displays document the various occupations prevalent in this area over the centuries in splendid tiny models.
4. The Perugina Historical Chocolate Museum is devoted to the history of chocolate manufacturing and every October, the town celebrates the famous Chocolate Festival. The museum is part of the Perugina factory, which produces the Baci chocolates. The factory offers chocaholics a guided tour of the complex.
5. The Museum in Tuoro sul Trasimeno documents the famous Battle of Trasimeno between Hannibal and the Roman Consul, Cauis Flaminius in 217 BC. The museum provides a detailed account of the battle and includes some fine archaeological findings from that period. Heavily outnumbered on the shores of the Lake Trasimeno, Hannibal carried out one of the greatest ambushes in history.
6. The Arborea Archaelogical Museum in San Lorenzo of Lerchi, Citta' di Castello, in the Province of Perugia houses a living tree museum, which promotes and preserves a large number of native Italian trees. The museum tends to and cares for 150 rare local fruit trees ensuring their survival.
7. The Lace-Making Museum in Panicale, near Lake Trasimeno is dedicated to the life and work of a remarkable woman called Anita Bellischi. She established a school to teach local women the delicate craft of lace work as a means to gaining financial independence.
8. The World of Model Soldiers Museum is located in La Preghiera, Calzolaro in the province of Perugia. La Preghiera is the restored medieval monastic estate, currently a luxury B&B guesthouse, it hosts an interesting collection of over 30,000 lead toy soldiers including prints, uniforms and flags.
9. The Wine Museum of Torgiano, established by the Lungarotti family, have been producing wine in the region for decades. This exhibition documents the history and evolution of wine equipment and production over the centuries.
10. The Museum of Emigration is located in the Podesta Palace in Gualdo Tadino in the Perugia province and provides an interesting piece of Italian social history. The Museum documents the stories behind the thousands of Italians who left their homeland between 1800 and 1950 to seek fortune in foreign lands.