Woad Museum

history and applications of ancient blue gold

Woad, the blue gold of Montefeltro

The scientific name of the ford is Isatis tinctoria he was born in'only European plant from which man, since prehistoric times, has obtained blue.
Woad was cultivated from the 11th to the 17th century and we are in a privileged area where the entire production chain existed.
The were used ford millstones: stone mills that crushed the leaves to reduce them into paste and then into "plenty"...
The plant has gone down in history for the blue used in the fabric dyeing, but the jobs are also other. For example the ford is also a medicinal plant with multiple properties...
The events linked to this color and to the plant are rich and fascinating.
We can't wait to tell you about them!

The woad path

The path of the ford is a path that integrates that of the museum. Along the path, made with hand made and painted ceramic tiles, the plant, its colour, its applications and its processing are illustrated.

Library

The woad and other colors library is made up of ancient and modern volumes, as well as a digital archive. The texts and articles can be used by guests and by those who request them.

The book

In addition to the initial project of the 2021 thematic calendar on the theme of ford, a book was designed, written and produced entitled "In the blue of ford. History of a plant and a colour. Itinerary in art, craftsmanship and archeology of the blue gold territories between Marche, Umbria and Tuscany".

The woad millstone

That of the ford millstone was the medieval processing of the first phase of processing the ford. We have recovered an original part of a ford millstone, a real find of industrial archeology and put it back into operation during the annual re-enactment. On this occasion, which is put on the calendar during the summer season, the leaves of the ford are collected and ground to make the famous cuccagne!

The garden of colors

The garden of colors is a botanical garden where you can observe the main dyeing plants of our area.

The path of colors

The path of colors is a 4 km long path for families dotted with signals and signs that tell the world of natural colors.

Dye plants

Since ancient times man has selected numerous plants from which to extract color. Among these the ford, the madder, the reseda, the litmus, the marigold, the phytolack, the celandine, L'indigo, the persicaria...
Many of these plants grow wild here too, but throughout history they have been cultivated for color production! Yes, man can cultivate color!
Vegetable color was used for the fabric dyeing, but also for get pigments for cosmetic and artistic use: with their lacquers paints, inks, watercolours, tempera and oil colors are obtained.
In some cases it is also a food and medicinal color!

The laboratories

Find out more

The Museum is part of the #destinazioneguado project