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Collections - Tropical Agrarian Museum
The Tropical
Agrarian Museum of the Istituto Agronomico per
l'Oltremare was established at the beginning of this
century as a practical aid in the training courses for
tropics students.
As time passed it was enriched thanks to the continuous
contribution of materials and objects by agricultural
expert who were working in tropical countries. Former
students and external researchers also contributed, as
well as officials of the Institution.
The collection of the Museum, now distributed in various
rooms of the Institute, consists of samples from Africa,
Asia, Oceania and Latin America.
It includes raw materials of animal, vegetable and
mineral origin; products processed industrially or by
artisan processes and instruments for processing;
agricultural equipment, arms and craft objects above all
from Africa. The collection is organized in groups by
products together with those of analogous use and their
derivatives.
nervine
or stimulating : coffee, tea, cocoa,
mate, ciat, karkadŠ, tobacco;
spices:
pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger,
vanilla;
cereals:
wheat, barley, rice, corn, sorghum, bultuk,
daguss…, teff;
fruits:
date, papaya, annona, mostera, casimiroa,
passiflora, mango, durio;
fibers:
cotton, sisal, sansevieria, maguey, henequen,
jute, alfa, sparto, palm, flax, linen, ramie,
kapok, papyrus, raffia, abaca;
dyes
and tannins: annatto, oricello,
eucalyptus, indigo; - essences and perfume
plants: citronella or lemon grass, vetiver;
gums
and resins: incense, myrrh, copal, gum
arabic, Australian gum, caoutchouc;
medicinal
plants: tamarind, cinchona, nux vomica,
coca, stramonius (jimson weed), senna, rhubarb;
animal
products: silk, bees wax; vegetable
ivory and samples of prized exotic woods;
starch-producing
plants: manioc, sweet potato, yam, taro,
starch banana; - saccariferous plants: sugar
cane;
oil
yielding plants: peanuts, coconut, palm
oil, soy bean, sesame, castor oil.
Among the
most interesting agricultural instruments note can be
made of some animal-drawn plows. Among the craft products
mention can be made of looms and spinning wheels from
eastern Africa, camel pack-saddles, mortars for cereals,
wind and percussion musical instruments, amphoras,
pottery and basketry.
Guided
tours are organized, contact: Antonella Bigazzi
fax: ++39
055 5061333, tel.: ++39 055 5061202
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