Museo di archeologia e paleontologia "Carlo Conti"

About the museum

The civic museum of Borgosesia is named after Carlo Conti (1880–1974), sculptor and honorary inspector of the Archaeological Heritage Authority (Soprintendenza) of Piedmont from 1923 to 1954. His research still forms the basis of knowledge of the archaeology of the Valsesia; thanks to works for the expansion of the Bonaccio aqueduct, numerous materials were recovered from the necropolis of Seso, the ancient name of Borgosesia. Outside Piedmont, Conti catalogued more than 40,000 rock engravings of Monte Bego. In 1931, in the volume “Valsesia archeologica”, he proposed the creation of an archaeological museum for the valley.

In the 1950s the Gruppo Archeologico e Speleologico di Borgosesia was founded and assisted researchers in the expeditions to the caves of Monte Fenera in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2007, at the wish of the Soprintendenza per i beni archeologici del Piemonte, the current archaeological and palaeontological museum was inaugurated, developed around Conti’s collections. Excavations continue today with the campaigns of the universities of Ferrara and Geneva.

The collections document human presence in the area from the Middle Palaeolithic to the 19th century: stone tools and prehistoric pottery, mainly from Monte Fenera; Pleistocene fauna such as cave lions, lynxes, aurochs and rhinoceroses, and a reassembled skeleton of a cave bear; Iron Age and Roman grave goods; materials from an early medieval cave settlement; and finds from the castle of Vanzone.

Highlights

• Neanderthal fossils and Middle Palaeolithic finds from the Monte Fenera caves
• Reassembled skeleton of a cave bear
• Iron Age and Roman grave goods
• Early medieval finds and materials from the castle of Vanzone
• Route that can be combined with the caves of the Monte Fenera Nature Park

Permanent exhibition

• Collezioni archeologiche e paleontologiche – Route from prehistory to the Middle Ages, with finds from Monte Fenera, the necropolis of Seso and the castle of Vanzone.

Founded

2007

Operated by

Comune di Borgosesia

Visitors per year

approx. 2,542

Admission & discounts

Free admission also for qualified guides and holders of the Abbonamento Musei Piemonte and Formula Extra. Tickets are bought at the museum during opening hours; only electronic payments are accepted.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• 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 museum declares itself accessible to persons with motor disabilities.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

By car from the A26 motorway (Genoa–Gravellona Toce), exit Romagnano Sesia–Ghemme.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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