Museo dell'Ombrello e del Parasole

Museum devoted to umbrellas, parasols and handles, with the history of the umbrella makers of the Vergante, housed in a building shaped like three umbrellas.

Opening hoursAdmission €5

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About the museum

The Museo dell’Ombrello e del Parasole in Gignese, in the Vergante, was founded in 1939 by the agronomist Igino Ambrosini, a lover of local history, and rebuilt after the war. Since 1976 it has had its permanent home in a two-storey building that recalls the shape of three umbrellas side by side. It is supported by the Piedmont Region, the municipality and the association Amici del Museo.

The collections comprise about 1,500 pieces, including handles, sticks, umbrellas and parasols, of which about 200 are displayed in cases to follow the evolution of models and fashions from the 20th century to today. On the ground floor are covering materials such as lace, silk, cotton and synthetic fibres, the ribs and shafts in wood, metal and bone, and handles carved or made of ivory, painted enamel and mother-of-pearl.

Among the historic pieces are umbrellas that belonged to painters and cardinals, and the parasol of Queen Margherita, whose family spent their summers in Stresa. The upper floor is devoted to the umbrella makers, with photographs, documents, tools of the trade and invoices from factories across Italy, and tells the story of those who, born in the Vergante, made the trade known around the world.

Highlights

Building shaped like three umbrellas side by side
About 1,500 pieces of umbrellas, parasols, sticks and handles
Parasol of Queen Margherita
Umbrellas that belonged to painters and cardinals
Section on the lives of the travelling umbrella makers of the Vergante

Permanent exhibition

Collezione permanente di ombrelli e parasole – About 200 pieces on display, showing the evolution of models from the 20th century to today; on the upper floor, the section on the umbrella makers.

Founded: 1939
Visitors per year: approx. 2,235