Born from the feverish and tireless collecting activity of Diogene Penzi, a renowned teacher, principal and ethnologist, 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 their layout and the richness of their blooms.

The museum exhibition is divided into several floors and addresses the theme of peasant life starting from all aspects related to everyday life: the family, home furnishings, cooking, clothing, up 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 itinerary opens with domestic environments reconstructed philologically: first and foremost the heart of family life, the kitchen with its fogolâr, and the bedroom with straw mattresses stuffed with corn leaves. The environmental reconstructions are accompanied by the most varied furnishings, many of which, now obsolete, arouse the curiosity of visitors.

Areas closely linked to the family sphere 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 sericulture, spinning, weaving and clothing making. Among these sections, the one dedicated to mulberry seedlings stands out for its richness, displaying the most varied types of cocoons. Among the garments, the embroidered underwear and the pescez stand out for their beauty, women's shoes with embroidered black velvet uppers 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 milk processing, slaughtering and meat processing, but also the use of animals as means of locomotion and traction, a theme closely linked to that of means of transport, such as carriages and agricultural carts.

Countless tools on display are linked to the working of the land, as agriculture was, among productive activities, the main occupation and source of income for peasant families. The manual tools, such as the hoe, spade and pickaxe, were accompanied by those pulled by oxen, such as the plough, of different types depending on use, and the harrow. Specific sections are dedicated to maize cultivation and viticulture.

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