Brenzone Ethnographic Museum Showcases 1800s Peasant Life and Heritage
A dozen rooms spread across three floors offer an insight into the life of a peasant family from the Upper Lake region in the 1800s. This is the ethnographic museum of Brenzone, inaugurated in the presence of the town’s civil and religious authorities. The house, the authentic residence of Maria Mantovani, co-founder of the order of Little Sisters of the Holy Family, is located nearly at the end of a very steep alley that leads directly to Castelletto’s center. Acquired by the religious institute from the owners in 1978, it has been restored over the past four years. «More than a traditional museum, we aimed to restore a building in the historic center», explains Flavio Gugole, the architect responsible for the work. In the house, windows, fixtures, walls, and floors are essentially original from the period. «The most deteriorated pieces were replaced by others from the same era. This meticulous work was carried out personally by Andrea Filippi, the builder who performed the renovations», Gugole continues. «But the goal was to give the building an ethnographic and historical value, not to turn it into an sterile container of antique objects». The objects, all cataloged and photographed in a digital archive being assembled, are arranged in the various rooms according to their function and original placement.
The interior spaces and objects of the museum
In the basement, where the barn is located—also used for winter spinning—there is the manger for the livestock, and the “caréta”, a sled used for transporting firewood. In the small courtyard, objects hanging on the perimeter wall include the “scalini”—pegs still used by locals for olive harvesting. Common household items such as a wash basin, sickles, plows, rakes, livestock bells, axes, wicker baskets, and carpentry tools are in the adjacent tool shed next to the barn.
On the first floor, a reconstructed granary, a utility room used as a pantry and cellar, and the kitchen are housed. Here, there are the flour bin and large wooden chests for domestic linens. On the table, a basin, a basin made of local marble, a fireplace, and various shelves hold everyday utensils and tableware. «Few items because, at the time, life was simple—and the kitchen has been recreated as if it had never been abandoned.»
On the top floor are the hayloft, where silk rearing “arele” are kept, the sister’s bedroom—who, along with Giuseppe Nascimbeni, founded the order of Little Sisters—and the “room of memories”. The first contains a bed, kneeler, and wardrobe with the venerable sister’s clothes; the other is filled with antique musical instruments and photos of the former Castelletto. «We wanted to create something that served the local charity», explains Sister Gianandreina Todesco, the superior of the Order. «It was the house of Mother Maria Mantovani. An edifice like this can only be turned into a shrine or a public space. Since the shrine already exists, we wanted something that would remember the life, culture, and environment of that period—the era during which our founder’s vocation was formed.»
The museum can be visited by appointment. For information, contact the Municipal Civil Registry Offices: 045.6589500. centrostudi@pssf.it. Iat 045.6589510 or 045.6589111.