Born from the feverish and tireless collecting activity of Diogene Penzi, teacher, principal and ethnologist of vaglia, the museum dedicated to him is set up in one of the barchesse of Palazzo Tullio Altan, one of the most illustrious noble residences in the San Vito area. The complex also boasts an Italian garden and a park renowned for the beauty of the plant and the richness of the blooms.

The museum exhibition is divided into several floors and deals with the theme of peasant life starting from all aspects related to everyday life: the family, home furnishings, cooking, clothing, to get to all the activities intended for sustenance. and income generation. The exhibition combines the objects with a rich iconographic set that clarifies their context and use.

The path opens with domestic environments reconstructed philologically: first of all the heart of family life, the kitchen with its fogolâr, and the bedroom with straw mattresses stuffed with corn leaves. The reconstructions of the environment are accompanied by the most varied furnishings, many of which, now obsolete, arouse the curiosity of visitors.

Areas closely linked to the sphere of the family are represented by childcare and food preparation. Intended partly for self-consumption and partly for the production of supplementary income, especially “for women”, were activities such as silkworm farming, spinning, weaving, and making clothes. Among these sections, the richness of the one dedicated to jasmine cultivation, which exhibits the most varied types of cocoons, stands out. Among the garments, embroidered linen and shoes stand out for their beauty, women's shoes with an embroidered black velvet upper and quilted fabric soles, an element of the traditional Friulian costume that fashion has rediscovered in recent years.

Livestock breeding in its material and symbolic aspects represents an important chapter of the museum exhibition, which also addresses issues such as haymaking, milking and processing of milk, slaughtering and processing of meat, but also the use of animals such as means of locomotion and traction, a subject closely linked to that of means of transport, such as buggies and farm wagons.

Countless tools on display are linked to working the land, as agriculture was, in the context of production activities, the main occupation and source of income for peasant families. In addition to manual tools, such as hoes, spades and picks, there were those pulled by oxen, such as the plow, of different types depending on use, and the harrow. Specific sections are dedicated to maisculture and vitiviniculture.

The Museum is managed by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region through the ERPAC - Regional Body for Cultural Heritage.