The "Museo della Bonifica" of San Donà di Piave has a recent history: we can say that the idea of its foundation was born after the experience of the lost " Museo della Guerra" founded in the 1930’s, in a culturally growing town in search of its own origins. As it was impossible to gather the inexistent remains of a glorious past, research on Man and his realisations was carried out stressing in particular the development of the different local communities with the reappraisal of rural civilisation, of the great land reclamation and of the recent historical events such as the Great War which completely destroyed San Donà and gave it, after the victory, the strength to be born again from the rubble. This idea was brought to life when the Museum was founded in 1975 and at the same time an intense period of research of material was carried out, after which it was decided to devote the Museum to the land reclamation. The purchase of the building (ex Clarisse) allowed the Museum to have a permanent seat.
It was opened on 2^nd October 1983 and it consists of two floors with an entrance - reception, a library, an office, 15 exhibition halls and some green areas inside the building. Since that time on, it has developed its role as an institute dedicated to the collection of anything concerning the history, the traditions, the economic and social development of the whole territory of the "Basso Piave".
In 1985 the municipal administration enlarged the museum adding a new building close to the existing one. With this new wing, the area of the museum passed from 760 to 2600 m² with an exhibition divided into five sections: one dedicated to the land reclamation, after which the museum is named, followed by an ethnographic section, an archaeological one, one on the war and finally a naturalistic one.
Today the museum is a landmark, not only to get information about the period of the land reclamation, but also for the historical, social and economic events that preceded and characterised that period, and to understand better the events that followed.
The "Museo della Bonifica" offers its visitors its service of acquisition, preservation, research and communication of all the material which has marked the history of our populations and of their environment, with the aim of educating, entertaining and providing the visitors with the material they wish to study.