Design and Culture of the Territory: Ecomuseo del Grano e del Pane in the Salemi Museum System

Abstract

The article deals with design experimentation in the complex and composite field of design for the culture of the territory, aimed at enhancing the particular resources common to the Mediterranean areas, through an incremental and collaborative design methodology. The town of Salemi (TP) inherited an extraordinary concentration of cultural heritage from its history; in particular the preparation and display of the decorated breads for the Festivity of San Giuseppe, occurring on March 19th, which expresses a profound religiosity and a complex rituality, shared, handed down and recognized as an intangible cultural asset to be protected. In this territorial context, a vision aimed at encouraging increasingly wider cultural and tourist growth and interested in the quality of experience has led to the design elaboration and realization of an Ecomuseo del Grano e del Pane. This is an experimentation articulated through meetings with the various territorial actors, gathering experiences and testimonies, and laboratory activities. Together with the description of the project outcome, the article intends to describe and analyze the intertwining of the many aspects that have structured the design process, based on a multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary approach “necessary” for cultural elaboration and looking at design as a multidimensional and relational discipline.