Museo Etnografico Tiranese
Museum of Valtellina rural and craft life in the Casa del Penitenziere, next to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Tirano. Closed for works.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Museo Etnografico Tiranese was founded in 1973 on the initiative of the Centro Iniziativa Giovanile, with the aim of collecting and promoting the rural culture of Valtellina. The first collections were housed in the Palazzo San Michele, a former pilgrims' inn. After the natural disasters of 1987 the museum moved, in 1990, to its present home, the eighteenth-century Casa del Penitenziere, which overlooks the square of the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Tirano and was restored and adapted as a museum. Since 2018 the museum has been managed by the Comune di Tirano.
The collections document, through objects and reconstructed rooms, the life and traditional activities of the valley's farmers and craftsmen: agriculture and herding, dairy processing, weaving, carpentry, ironwork and winemaking. In the basement are the wine press and the oil mill. On the ground floor are the workshops of the wheelwright, the cooper and the tinsmith, the exhibition hall and the gate room. The upper floors hold the library, the loom room, the room with the painted ceiling, the kitchen, the stüa and the herding tools.
The display also includes some important pieces from the nearby basilica, among them the sacred vestments donated by Cardinal Richelieu in 1636, and photographic and documentary holdings such as a collection of letters from Valtellina emigrants. The museum is currently closed for redevelopment works.
Highlights
- Wine press and oil mill in the basement
- Workshops of the wheelwright, the cooper and the tinsmith
- Room with the painted ceiling and the stüa
- Loom room and herding tools
- Sacred vestments donated by Cardinal Richelieu in 1636
- Photographic and documentary holdings, including letters from Valtellina emigrants
Permanent exhibition
- Collezioni etnografiche – Objects and reconstructed rooms on the rural and craft life of Valtellina, organised by category: human activities, history and art, popular religiosity, the home, and paper and photographic documents (awaiting reopening).
- Founded
- 1973
- Operated by
- Comune di Tirano
- Visitors per year
- approx. 2,066
Admission & discounts
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Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
The museum is in Piazza Basilica, opposite the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Tirano.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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