What was life like in Saint Tropez before the stars arrived? Take a journey back in time in the Musée des arts et traditions populaires (Museum of Folk Arts and Traditions) in Grimaud.
Founded in 1982 by two inhabitants of Grimaud, who cared for their local heritage and were anxious to preserve it, part of the museum is situated in an old 17th century oil mill. All that remains of the mill itself are its high walls and some of the presses, which in Provence, from the 18th century on, were housed in "chapels" built into the walls. Various activities and trades of the time are represented: farming, forestry, crafts, butchering and sericulture (silk worm breeding). The museum's collections have been added to thanks to donations by the local population. Among other things, they have contributed to the construction of a replica of a typical farmer's dwelling at the end of the 19th century. The stables for farming implements, the mule, and so on, were on the ground floor. Living space was upstairs, and so was the bedroom which, although it afforded a certain privacy, was also used as a pantry! An opportunity to discover the daily life of Provencal peasants long ago, by means of their everyday objects.
