The main preoccupation in ethnology, until recently, was cultural ways of past everyday rural life. That kind of approach is visible in the Ethnographic Museum's permanent exhibition. The Croatian people in Istria were more identified with simple, rustic and archaic aspects of life than, for example, the culture of Italian habitants in Istria. That is one of the reasons why Croatian rural culture in Istria is more represented in permanent exhibition. The main emphasis of the permanent exhibition is on various types of handicrafts and basic branches of rural economy.
 In the first part of permanent exhibition, you can see traditional costume from different parts of Istria. Some of its elements are reflecting archaic influences - like woman dress suknja, modrna or gologran from Ćićarija and Labin area, which is not cut in waist; people inserted wedges to make it more volumenous. Next is the women dress from Montenegro inhabitants that came in south Istrian village Peroj in 17 century. They preserved their folk costume until 20 century. Because of the custom of burying woman in their traditional dresses, there are not any left. You can also see traditional dresses of women from Vodnjan that are reflecting baroque influences. Musical instruments, mostly the wind instruments, paint the picture of archaic music that they produced. Castle kitchen suggests typical Istrian kitchen with the most common traditional inventory from the end of the 19 century. There is a display of Istrian handicraftsmen products - pottery, baskets and weaving products characteristic to this cultural area. The main branches of rural economy (agriculture, vine growing, cattle breeding, and fishing) are also represented. Some of them have specific Istrian cultural elements (wooden plough - vrganj). 
 Notable is the archaic rural economy and the fact that Istrians who lived in villages produced, in their households, all that they needed for living until 20 century (food, clothes, dishes, simple furniture and other).
This permanent exhibition is displayed over twenty years. In the next year will be replaced with modern permanent exhibition. It will try, using different approach, to provide experience and information about different forms of Istrian culture.

Carpenter's workshop	Blacksmith's workshop	Husbandry and transport
Kitchen	Pottery	Traditional clothes