On the west-hand side of the Trebbia river, to be precise on SS45 which goes from Piacenza to Bobbio, you can find the Civic Museum and Archaelogical Park of Travo. The neolithic village of St Andrea, brought to light by numerous excavation operations, still has a dense structure perfectly-preserved dwellings and functional buildings. Wooden covers with double-sloped roofs have been added in order to preserve these buildings, covered with marsh reeds that recreate the exact dimensions and internal volume of the buildings and using the same materials used to build them in the past.
New wooden poles have been inserted into the original pole-holes discovered during the excavation, so that the original form of the poles and fencing that we find in various parts of the villages becomes clearer to visitors. Near the southern edge of the site, you can see the original dry pebble wall, the internal fencing of the village, which has now been protected with a wooden glass-roofed structure. Since 2010, it has also been possible to see scale-model reconstructions of various neolithic buildings.
Visiting the park
The visitor path features a range of explanatory panels about the history of the site, the domestic and functional buildings it contains, and more detailed information about the neolithic period in Italy and this region, and the local environment. “Themed” events are organised inside the Park, which focus on the ancient techniques of ceramic vase production, the working of flint, clothes and cooking. It is also possible to try out archaelogical research methods for yourself, and to excavate in a specially-designed simulation area which offers recreations of various structures present in the village.
One of the strong points of the Civic Museum and Archaelogical Park of Travo is its ease of accessibility. Right from your arrival, you have easy free parking next to the entrance, spaces and paths suitable for the disabled, and tactile paths for the blind with information panels in Braille. We also intend to offer multi-media screens for a virtual tour of the museum, and activities suitable for groups or personalised for users with cognitive or pyschological difficulties. The Park also has a defibrilator, and some of the staff are trained in essential first-aid techniques.
Visiting the museum
Opened in 1997, the Museum, which is based in the Castle of Travo, developed out of our desire to bring back to life the ancient population of our region. The work conducted over the last 15-20 years have allowed us to identify numerous dig-sites, pre-historic or proto-storic, be they Roman, medieval or more recent. The sheer quantity of the materials found indicates that this area has been populated continuously for a long time. The objects found during the excavations are on view in the Museum, in a display that starts from the Palalithic era and extends up to the late medieval period.
There are many different visiting options available, and many different activities that take place inside the museum, so we recommend that you check on the museum’s official website. We would also like to remind to park your camper in the convenient spaces opposite the entrance!
