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Entering this room, you cannot help being drawn to the old water tank truck. This old Fiat truck is the most precious item in the museum, both in terms of its actual value and in terms of the affection the people of Cuggiono have for it.
Many people still remember the truck rolling down the streets on hot, sunny summer days, sprinkling water in an attempt to decrease the oppressive heat (through evaporative cooling) and to hold down dust on the unpaved roads. This truck, a Fiat 18 BL, was built in 1815 and was purchased by the Italian Army. It was used during World War I to transport troops and material. Purchased by the municipality of Cuggiono in 1931, the truck was modified and converted to a water tank truck. During World War II, the truck was sent to Milan to help extinguish fires caused by Allied bombing of the city. Helmets, axes, gas masks, and other items of firefighting equipment are displayed and preserved here.
The remaining part of this large room is devoted to the practice of agriculture. Agriculture was the preeminent activity in this region for many centuries and this room contains numerous items related to it. Some of the tools, such as a wooden hayfork, dated to 1700, are old and quite rare. The peculiarity of these tools is derived from the fact that the wood is from alder trees that were grown and formed specifically to obtain the desired shapes.
The wooden rakes date to the end of the 1800's and beginning of the 1900's, as are various types of hoes, pruning hooks, and other implements.
A few people can still remember when wheat was harvested with long handled scythes and other items exhibited here. Among the tools, the “seghèss” was used to clean the irrigation channels, and the “misoia” was used for reaping wheat. To preserve the metal, these blades were sharpened with a hammering process using a specialized hammer and anvil.
A manual baler, several plows, and a harrow, and a sowing machine are positioned in the center of the room. Two corn huskers are next to the wall.
The “trieta”, used to cut mulberry tree leaves for silkworm food, reminds us that silkworm breeding was a common practice in our region. At one time, almost every family in Cuggiono derived some income from this activity.
An unusual thermometer, used to measure the temperature inside hay stacks, is among some of the unusual items in this room which evoke a certain sense of nostalgia for an earlier time in our village history.
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Museo Storico Civico Cuggionese - p.iva e C.F. 03747870966