Italian Museum of Cast Iron

The museum at Longiano, a town in Emilia Romagna of some 5,500 people, 90 km south-east of Bologna, displays the many practical and decorative uses to which cast-iron has been put, in Italy, and throughout Europe. The principal emphasis is on the use of cast-iron in urban settings over the past 150 years, and the displays include lamp standards, fountains, door knockers and a bandstand. Among the cities featured in the displays are Bologna, Dublin and Turin. The museum includes an archives and research centre. It is located in the church of Santa Maria della Lacrime, built in 1772.