The flour mill
The new permanent exhibition at the Ecomuseu Farinera invites you to discover the long history of wheat and flour, foodstuffs that have marked the evolution of human societies from the Neolithic until today.
The tour begins with the origins of grains, which reveals how cultivating them transformed communities’ landscape and lifestyles. This history is closely connected to Castelló d'Empúries, where wheat has been one of the town’s main economic resources since the Middle Ages.
The exhibition also tells about the essential role played by mediaeval mills powered by the force of the water in the ‘Rec del Molí’ (mediaeval channel) and how control over milling became a strategic activity for the Countship of Empúries. Through original pieces, graphic resources and interactive features, visitors can discover the way mills worked and the trades associated with flour production.
The tour continues with the industrial revolution in the late nineteenth century, when the Molí del Mig became a modern flour mill equipped with the Austro-Hungarian gradual milling system with cylinders. This innovation yielded higher-quality flour, boosted production and turned Castelló d'Empúries into an example of the modernisation of the Catalan flour industry.
The museum tour also teaches about the complete flour-making process, from the wheat intake and cleaning to the classification of the end products, as well as the organisation of work in the factory and the different trades that made flour production possible. Through the people involved, you’ll learn about the different inventions applied in the factory.
The exhibition highlights the role of water and energy as drivers of the industry and explains how the Francis turbine works, along with the industrial system that made it possible for the flour factory to develop. It also relates this heritage with today’s challenges related to sustainability natural resource use.
The second floor spotlights the landscape around the museum, including the farmland that still exists and is actively cultivated today, the value of the natural parks around us, the role played by the human factor in the transformation of landscapes and the environmental footprint we as a society leave on the environment around us.
With a combination of heritage objects, audiovisuals, interactive features and historical testimonials, the new exhibition offers an experience designed for all audiences that connects history, science, technology, landscape and heritage and helps visitors to understand how such an everyday food like bread has contributed to shaping the land and society throughout the centuries.
