La campagna a vapore - Open Day del gusto

Where: Via Sammarina 35 - Locality of San Marino - 40010 Bentivoglio (BO)

When: June 23, 2019

June is the month when the Bolognese countryside becomes golden yellow, thanks to the maturation of wheat. This cereal is the real "gold" of the Plains, symbol of land fertility and pillar of the Italian diet, essential part of the local history, economy, culture. It is, indeed, the main "ingredient" of the Open Day del Gusto, an event born to celebrate the connection between wheat and these lands.

This year the feast is focused to old steam machinery used for agricultural work: an occasion to re-discover traditions of the rural life in the Bolognese Plains after the turning point represented by the introduction of the steam power in farming. The setting, not by chance, is the Museum of the Rural Culture of San Marino di Bentivoglio, a place made suggestive by collections of old agricultural tools and the natural beauty of the surrounding park.

The Museum will host an exposition of the main agricultural processes involving the steam engine: funicular ploughing, wheat threshing, hemp breaking, green hemp scutching, drainage pumping, corn shelling, trunk sawing and so on. On the occasion from six to eight steam machines will be operated by 12 engine drivers.

The special exposition will be sided by the "open day del gusto", a Feast of the Wheat including exhibition of local products and tastings of home made bread, artisan beer, cold cuts, cheese, fruit, vegetables, honey, jam and other typical products. Children can enjoy workshops with local bread-makers and discover the rural traditions.