What is an ecomuseum?
Let's start by understanding what we are talking about and then get to know it.
By ecomuseum we mean everything that belongs to the culture and tradition of a territory: sites, customs, culture of ‘know-how’. In short, the whole that tells the story of yesterday and today of a community.
Having clarified this, is Alagna Valsesia an ecomuseum? One might say so.
Perhaps not quite so, but almost.
Where you go, you find centuries of history, there is no escaping it. But then why ever escape!
Easy paths connecting the old hamlets lead you to immerse yourself in the Walser architecture that will welcome you with a typically Teutonic mixture of warmth and severity.
The entire route of the high hamlets of Val Vogna is an ecomuseum route that develops in a harmonious colour play between the warm burnished colour of the larch houses and the green vegetation. The itinerary touches several Walser hamlets, each with its own particularity to show.
In Rabernardo you can immerse yourself in the daily life of a Walser house museum.
This is what unites the hamlets of Alagna. Ancient paths connecting the hamlets that gave life to Im Land
Then there are the sites within trails, which are the characterising expression of certain aspects.
The hydraulic sawmill in the hamlet of Resiga
The power of water combined with man's ingenuity and wood coming to life in new forms.
Unione Alagnese Theatre
historic building from 1900, a lively meeting place for the town's cultural associations.
The stage sets by Ercole Sormani and the Ars et Labor by Camillo Verno on the sides of the stage are well preserved.
In summer, between late July and early August, it hosts the Alagna Music Festival under the direction of Simone Pedroni, a famous pianist. This year we are at the Eleventh Edition
The mills in the hamlet of Uterio
Small stone huts dating back to around 1500, fed by a small branch of the Sesia river.
Recently restored for operation; an immersive experience in this small open-air museum.
Fractional bread ovens , The Ronco bread oven forni del pane frazionali ,
Present in every hamlet for the fundamental collective and community ritual of bread baking.
. The Walser Museum in the hamlet of Pedemonte a place that captures the essence of the daily life of the Walser community over the centuries.
The answer to the initial question is therefore :
YES!!!
Alagna is an ecomuseum of Walser culture for all these aspects and for all that is its ‘know-how’ built up over the centuries.
