Museo delle Miniere di Morgnano

Museo del Pozzo Orlando

Useful Information

Location:	Via del Pozzo Orlando, Frazione Morgnano, 06049 Spoleto PG. (42.769312, 12.696264)
Open:	01-MAY 9:30-12:30, 15:30-18:30. AUG Sat, Sun 9:30-12, 16-18:30. All year Mon-Fri after appointment. [2022]
Fee:	Adults EUR 3, Children EUR 2. [2022]
Classification:	Coal Mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Museo delle Miniere, Via del Pozzo Orlando, Frazione Morgnano, 06049 Spoleto PG, Tel: +39-349-775-2779. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1884	coal mine opened.
1943/44	heyday of the mines.
1955	23 miners died in an accident caused by a gas explosion.
1962	mine closed.

Geology

In this colliery so-called xyloid lignite was mined. This is a coal of very low grade, with a high amount of water, sulfur and other impurities. The best quality is pure carbon, and is created by a process which is called coalification. By heat and pressure all other elements are pressed out of the coal seam until only carbon remains. Xyloid lignite is at the very beginning of this process, which normally means it is very young.

Description

Museo delle Miniere di Morgnano (Mining Museum Morgnano) is also sometimes called Museo del Pozzo Orlando, because it is located on the site of the former Pozzo Orlando (Orlando Shaft). The mine and the shaft are gone, the headframe was demolished, the museum is a new building, which was created from the lower part of the Pozzo Orlando headframe. The museum is a result of the work of local volunteers and managed by the non-profit Amici delle Miniere (Friend of the Mine) association. The mine is gone, but it was reconstructed in a 3D computer model which you can see on their website. The museum has an exhibition of the local mining history with documents, photographs, tools and other items. There are old helmets, oil lamps, acetylene and petroleum lamps, safety mechanisms and work tools. But the museum also offers a great range of events, and is the place the association meets.

The Pozzo Orlando (Orlando Shaft) was a colliery, the mine had its heydays during World War II, in 1943 and 1944 more than 8,000 miners worked here. After the war, the number decreased continually, four thousand, two thousand, a thousand people. Finally, the mine was closed in 1962.