Reeds and Rushes
This room is a tribute to the authentic rural traditions of the area called Bassa Romagna, surrounding Bagnacavallo.
Flowing from the Tuscan Apennines to our countryside, the Lamone river carried down fertile and impermeable loam, which favoured the development of a dense vegetation of wetland grasses: common reed, reedmace (or cattail), grass rush, sedge and sharp rush.
These five types of grasses became an authentic resource for the old inhabitants of this area: their primary use for the construction of huts soon gave birth, thanks to a bit of creativity and intuition, to a flourishing handicraft production of objects and furniture.
In this room, a wicker panel has been created using reedmace strips and framed into a natural wooden structure.
The panel has been woven together by Onelia Sabbioni (a voluntary worker for the Ecomuseum of Marshland Civilization in Villanova di Bagnacavallo) while the wooden structure has been fabricated by a local craftsman. The green natural lime wash, applied to the walls, brings to mind the colours of wetland plants and combines with the iridescent fresco painting on the wall to evoke images of rivers, vegetation, water and sky.
