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The “Ecomuseo della Segale” (“Ecomuseum of Rye”) is in Valdieri, in the province of Cuneo.
In the Maritime Alps, rye (Secale cereal) was used for bread, as straw for animal bedding and as an excellent, insulating and resistant material for the roofs until the 1950s.

The precious cereal, rustic, resistant, frugal, and well-suited to the harsh mountain climate, was the very core of what can be defined as the “rye civilization”.
The Ecomuseum of Rye promotes research on Alpine culture and traditions and, in particular, that of rye, supervising sustainable agricultural development projects, offering bread-making workshops, educational activities and cultural entertainment, as well as publishing articles and books on this very subject.

In the summer of 2012, the Ecomuseum also launched its homemade beer, made with grains of rye. The museum also deals with lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), another traditional crop in this area.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)