Pioppi · Pollica · UNESCO 2010
Pioppi,
Discover the Living Museum
Pioppi is a hamlet of the Municipality of Pollica, facing the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the heart of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park. It has about 350 inhabitants, narrow alleys, a church dedicated to San Nicola di Bari and a small harbour connecting it by sea to Acciaroli and Casal Velino.
In 1962 the American physiologist Ancel Keys moved here with his wife Margaret, building the Minnelea villa on the seafront. He stayed for over forty years, until 2004, when he returned to the USA shortly before his death (at the age of 100 in 2004). In Pioppi he developed the Seven Countries Study, from which comes the scientific model of the Mediterranean Diet now known all over the world.
In 2010 UNESCO inscribed the Mediterranean Diet on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: Pollica is one of the seven emblematic communities of the designation, together with Soria (Spain), Koroni (Greece), Chefchaouen (Morocco), Agros (Cyprus), Brač–Hvar (Croatia) and Tavira (Portugal).
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Housed in the 16th-century Palazzo Vinciprova, on the Pioppi seafront, the Living Museum tells the Mediterranean Diet as a scientific, agricultural, cultural and social model. Open all year round, it is the only museum in the world entirely dedicated to the topic.
Seven themed rooms dedicated to the pillars of the Mediterranean food pyramid: bread and cereals, oil, wine, fruit and vegetables, fish, dairy, meat. Multimedia installations and interactive screens.
Historic photos, notes, letters and instruments of the American physiologist who lived in Pioppi for over 40 years and codified the Mediterranean Diet through the comparative study in seven nations.
An in-depth look at PDO Cilento extra-virgin olive oil and the medicinal plants of Cilento National Park: mastic, myrtle, wild fennel, oregano. Educational workshops for schools and visitors.
On the lower floor of Palazzo Vinciprova, the Sea Museum houses marine biology specimens of the Tyrrhenian Sea: vertebrates, crustaceans, molluscs, traditional Cilento fishing gear.
Contact the Info Point for up-to-date hours, guided tours in Italian and English, workshops for schools and groups.