I could while away the hours, conferrin’ with the flowers
Consultin’ with the rain.
And my head I’d be scratchin’ while
my thoughts were busy hatchin’
If I only had a brain.
These are the first words that came to me when I first arrived at the ‘Scarecrow Museum’ in Frontino, a few kilometers away from the beautiful Romanesque pieve in Carpegna, a couple of months ago.
Our daughter Costanza used to love the movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’ when she was five, so we both have sung along with the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion over fifty times! However, if the scarecrow in the movie touched my heart with his sweet quest for a brain, the scarecrows I found inside the tiny museum in Frontino were kind of unsettling. Probably because when I visited the smallest ‘borgo’ in our Province of Pesaro and Urbino (the smallest as far as the number of inhabitants are concerned… slightly more than 300!), the only people I saw was an old man driving his Ape Piaggio (!) and an old lady hanging out her laundry…
Anyway, I loved walking through the narrow streets of Frontino, as time seemed to have stopped there. The ‘borgo’ is indeed the same as it was in the Middle Ages.
After walking for a couple of minutes along the main cobblestone street, passing by the library, a medical health centre and an ’emporio’ (a drugstore), I reached a little square overlooking the hills nearby with a beutiful fountain in the middle– a work by Franco Assetto.
Inside the 14th century tower I tracked down the most curious little museum I ever saw… the museum of scarcrows! I don’t know who had this idea and why, but I found it both slightly unsettling and funny. I ventured inside with my smartphone to take a few pictures but I must admit that as soon as I heard a squeaking sound I turned my heels and rushed out of the tower 😉
To me, the oddest museum I ever visited is this one in Frontino. And what about you? What is the most bizarre museum you ever visited?
wherelemonsblossom.wordpress.com 
“Spaventapasseri” 🙂 Mai visto qui in Francia … I’ve always seen the very best in Italy; I really enjoy your posts
Thank you Liz! That is pretty weird even for us Italians 😉
The United States certainly has an oversupply of oddball museums. One of the most curious The Counselor and I have seen is here in the greater Los Angeles area: The Bunny Museum. Tens of thousands of items that depict rabbits. I’ve never written a blog post about it, and it’s been many years since we went there. We recently read that they’ve relocated to a larger building, and perhaps it’s time to go again! A lot less creepy than scarcecrows, but the proprietors’ somewhat maniacal devotion to bunnies is not entirely normal.
Hi Brad! Grazie mille for sharing the information on The Bunny Museum with us! That sounds very funny and… sweet 😉 You write that there are tens of thousands of them. I bet that a visit to that museum can turn out to be a very remarkable experience 😉 Your comment made me laugh so much when you wrote that ‘the proprietor’s somewhat maniacal devotion to bunnies is not entirely normal’ 🙂 I would not feel comfortable if I knew he was living next door!
All those scarecrows are charming Simona!! And a little quirky!! But the star of this day out is the town!! So beautiful and unchanged and tranquil!! my favorite photo was the aqua water of the fountain in front of the mountains. And– our most unusual museum was a Museum of Curiosities in Salzburg– a stuffed double headed calf and other medical anomalies. A little strange, but we love all kinds of museums! Another fun post Simona– thanks blog-friend!! xox
Grazie, Rhonda, for sharing your experience of the Museum of Curiosities in Salzburg! Sounds pretty strange but interesting too. Sounds like you’ve travelled a lot! Maybe when you were based in Spain? I too love all kinds of museum. Take care! Hugs