The Sabina Oil Museum

The Oil Museum, located in Castelnuovo di Farfa, welcomes visitors with an intriguing outdoor exhibit. Graffiti etched on colored mortar recalls the hues of oil, while phrases underscore the mystery shared between art and oil.

Inside the museum, the first work catches the eye: a segment of an olive tree trunk, with wooden planks of various sizes forming a striking canopy. The black walls, adorned with gold threads, evoke the flow of oil through space, creating an atmosphere that embraces planets and freedom.

A next step reveals an unfinished work by Alik Cavaliere, due to the artist’s untimely death. Seven bronze fragments, sculptural portraits of a humanized olive tree, lie on the floor, depicting an ever-changing but vibrant nature.

The tour continues in a dimly lit cavern, where an upside-down copper boat floats on similar small boats. The machine room features ancient presses, crucial evidence of the past oil production process, while a unique melody comes to life in the oleophone room, synchronizing the irregular drip of oil with the rotation of a centuries-old olive tree trunk.

The penultimate stop leads to the old mill from the late 18th century, where a grindstone, usually driven by a donkey, served the community not only for oil but also for other foods.

The last stage of the tour, outside the museum, takes place at the bakery, with a sign reading “Oil to bread to the earth the dream.” A symbolic fire bakes ceramic loaves, while ready-made ones are arranged on a wooden bench, adorned with golden olive branches, symbolizing the transformation of oil in giving new flavor to bread, analogous to the art and life of each individual.

Thus ends our visit to what we believe to be one of the most original and striking attractions in Sabina.