The Hall of Costumes and Folk Traditions (Costume Room) is housed in the basement of the elegant Town Hall, where the splendid ducal costumes—that is, the garments worn during the historical reenactment of the “Contesa del pozzo della polenta” (Contest of the Polenta Well)—are on display. These costumes are crafted each year by the district that won the contest the previous year; they are paraded in a single edition of the contest “Contesa” and then put on display.

The costumes on display in the Room represent only a small fraction of all those created over the years; including ducal robes and those for standard-bearers, priors, nobles, heralds, squires, attendants, courtiers, gentlemen, clergy, and commoners, the collection now numbers more than 500. Only by participating in the parades of the “Contesa” is it possible to admire a significant portion of this heritage of historical tailoring.

In addition to the garments, the Costume Room displays the banners painted each year for the Contest of the polenta well, tools for working with fabrics, a wooden reproduction of the Pozzo della Polenta (polenta well), and a model of the legendary Cannone di Fico (fig cannon) crafted by a local artisan.

The Room’s new exhibition layout showcases the costumes and other displayed items through a simple yet highly evocative design.