Piskopiano Museum of Rural Life

About

The Museum of Rural Life is a branch of the Historical Museum of Crete, located in the heart of the traditional village of Piskopiano, 3 km south of Limin Hersonissou. It was founded by the Society of Cretan Historical Studies (SCHS) in 1988 and is housed in a restored 19th-century stone-built olive mill and a two-storey building donated by the Parlamas family. The Museum Collections, with exhibits dating from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, offer visitors a panorama of Cretan village life. In the olive factory are presented the farming and everyday occupations of rural inhabitants and the pre-industrial professions of the carpenter, the cooper, the smith and the olive-mill owner. The newer wing of the Museum is dedicated to Cretan weaving and houses rare textiles and tools from the Collections of Mrs Theano Metaxa-Kanakaki and the SCHS. The permanent exhibitions include lace-making, with selected examples of lace from the collection of the late journalist Maria Papoutsaki.

At a glance

• Typical visit: about 1 hour 30 minutes