Set up in the ancient medieval hospice of San Pellegrino, it was opened to the public in 1970 under the name of "Museo della Campagna e della Vita di Ieri" ["Museum of the Countryside and Life of Yesterday"], with the aim of illustrating rural society in the Valle del Serchio and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. In 1987 the museum took its current name, following the donation of the collection (around 5,000 objects) to the Lucca Provincial Administration which, through the Popular Traditions Centre, has managed it and promoted its scientific activity since then.

The ethnographic collection, displayed in 14 rooms, includes objects collected by Don Luigi Pellegrini, dating mainly from the first years of the 20th century to today. The materials are divided into sections in which replicate the settings of everyday life and work are replicated: the cellar, bedroom, kitchen; agricultural work, spinning and weaving; a shoemaker's shop, a general store, candle-maker, smithy and mill. Noteworthy in particular are two big wooden looms for spinning, various implements for working flax and hemp, and numerous agricultural machines. The Museum also possesses some original furnishings from the Hospital of San Pellegrino, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.