The Civic Museum in Montaione, housed in the Palazzo Pretorio, boasts a collection of archeological and paleontological artifacts coming from the territory around Montaione. The collection includes a fossil of a whale skeleton found in Castelfalfi and dated to 3 million years ago, when the area was underwater.
The objects cover an immensely wide time frame, ranging from the Lower Paleolithic Age and the late Middle Ages, even if most of them can be dated between the 7th and 1st century BCE. The oldest artifact, which proves that the hills around Montaione had been inhabited since antiquity, is the Etruscan stele from the 6th century BCE. It depicts a warrior with a helmet, a spear, and a shield on top of the gravestone that shows the age of the deceased.
An important section of the exhibit concerns the historical industry of glass and ceramic, which begins in the Middle Ages. It was particularly important for the territory’s economy over the centuries. This production flourished thanks to the presence of raw materials and forest resources.
