Museo etnografico Canal di Brenta
Museum in the centre of Valstagna on life along the Brenta: rafts, timber felling, tobacco, smuggling and emigration.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum opened in 2003 at the end of an anthropological and ethnographic study that involved the local population and gathered oral testimonies alongside objects. It is housed in Palazzo Perli, a 17th-century building once owned by a family of notaries linked to the timber trade, in the centre of Valstagna, now part of the municipality of Valbrenta (created in 2019 from the merger of six municipalities).
The visit begins in the hall of the palazzo and continues into the attic. Objects, words and stories illustrate the community's relationship with the river and the environment: the felling of timber in the woods of the plateau, its transport along the timber routes and by raft (commemorated every year by the Palio delle Zattere at the end of July), and the devastating floods of the Brenta.
A large part is devoted to terracing, the dry-stone walls of the masiere (terraces) and the cultivation of tobacco, with the smuggling it led to, and the migrations that followed the decline of this crop. The museum is the centre of a network of museums of the Canale di Brenta.
Highlights
- Route from the palazzo hall to the attic
- Historic photographs and objects of rural life
- Transport of timber by raft on the Brenta
- Tobacco, smuggling and emigration after the war
- Founded
- 2003
- Operated by
- Comune di Valbrenta
- Visitors per year
- approx. 500
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €3 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €2Children aged 5 to 12, over 65s, people with disabilities, law enforcement officers, families with 2 adults and 2 or more children |
| Children & teens | €2free up to age 4 · Free admission up to age 5. |
A self-guided visit is also included in the “Parco + Musei” ticket (standard €6, reduced €5) and in the “Grotte + Parco + Musei” ticket with boat trip (standard €12, reduced €10) for the Grotte di Oliero complex. Free admission for residents of Valbrenta (one free entry per year).
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Access and guided tours are arranged through the Grotte di Oliero (info@grottedioliero.it, tel. +39 0424 558250). Educational programmes for all schools, from kindergarten to university, including the excursions “Alta Via del Tabacco” and “L'anello delle zattere”. |
