A look at history, trades, olive cultivation and new crop growing, oil production as the engine of the municipality, tools and equipment, ... a walk through history. The Interpretation Center "Vida a la Plana" is located in the Martí masada, one of the oldest farmhouses in Santa Bàrbara.
Its exhibition content shows in the space occupied by the olive oil mill of the masada how the Plana of the Montsià has been colonized and exploited since the 18th century. Visitors can explore seven thematic areas that explain with objects, texts, photographs, diagrams and a genealogical tree: the agricultural colonization of La Plana; the origins and evolution of the population of Santa Bàrbara from the first isolated farms and settlements; the architectural characteristics and family history of Martí's masada, from 1715 to now; the traditional cultivation of the olive trees; the traditional production of olive oil, its use and commercialization and, finally, the recent evolution of the agricultural exploitation of La Plana. The millstones and some elements of the "giny" press from the old oil mill of the masada are integrated into the exhibition: the "caragol", the "lliura"and the "contrafort tower" of the beam.
The Interpretation Center "Vida a la Plana" is completed with the Josep Antoni Valls Natural History Collection, where you can visit a small collection with both, a mineralogical and paleontological section. The Center also houses an "agro-botiga", and an exhibition room that can also be used as an Auditorium.
Address:
Carretera de Madrid, 25
43570 Santa Bàrbara
SANTA BÀRBARA TOWN HALL: http://santabarbara.cat/museu-de-la-vida-a-la-plana