MuCast – Museo Archeominerario di Masso

About the museum

The MuCast opened on 28 September 2013 in Masso, a hamlet of Castiglione Chiavarese, and is part of the Sistema museale di Sestri Levante together with the MuSel. It is housed in the former school building and serves as the key to understanding the nearby Monte Loreto mining complex.

The Monte Loreto mine is considered the oldest copper mine in Western Europe and was already exploited in prehistoric times. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries the scholar Arturo Issel noticed that the mineral veins had been worked in very ancient times; more recent research, carried out from 1996 to 2006 by the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Liguria together with the universities of Nottingham and Genoa, has uncovered extraction shafts, stone structures and processing areas. Among the finds stands out an oak wooden handle dated to around 3500 BC, one of the oldest wooden objects from prehistoric mines.

On the ground floor are finds from prehistory to the modern age; on the first floor a room is used for workshops for children and teenagers. The visit, always guided, continues into the Galleria XX Settembre, where visitors wear a hard hat, and can go on along a path to the trenches and tunnels of prehistoric mining activity.

Highlights

• Finds from prehistory to the modern age
• Galleria XX Settembre mine gallery, visited wearing a hard hat
• Wooden handle from around 3500 BC from the Monte Loreto mine
• Path to the prehistoric mining sites at Casali
• Replicas of prehistoric tools to handle

Permanent exhibition

• Museo archeominerario e Galleria XX Settembre – Finds from prehistory to the modern age and a guided visit to the restored mine gallery, with the option to continue to the prehistoric sites at Casali.

Founded

2013

Operated by

Comune di Castiglione Chiavarese

Visitors per year

approx. 1,065

Admission & discounts

The full ticket includes the guided visit to the museum and the Galleria XX Settembre. Gift vouchers are available (info@mucast.it). With the MuCast ticket, admission to the MuSel in Sestri Levante costs €3.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The site does not describe its physical accessibility; the visit includes entry into a mine gallery. A reduced ticket of €1 is available for visitors with disabilities.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

On the first floor a room hosts workshops for children and teenagers; during the visit, replicas of prehistoric tools can be handled.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the former school of Masso, at via Giuseppe Mazzini 20.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit