Petit Monde Local History Museum

In Torgnon, in the hamlet of Triatel, is the most complete museum eco-system of the Valle d’Aosta.

The site, the architecture and the history make the Petit-Monde Museum a particularly interesting cultural asset for the whole of the regional community. A racard, or granary which is to find nowhere else in the Valley, a grandze, or rural building and a hayloft, built between 1462 and 1700, restored and displayed in a very original fashion, bear witness to a past that might otherwise be forgotten.

The tour begins on the bottom floor of the granary, with the permanent exhibition entitled “The Labyrinth of Memory“, which tells the true story of Man, the origin and evolution of the village, the life and social organisation of the inhabitants of this little corner of the past.

The texts of the exhibition, accompanied by Francesco Corni’s drawings, summarise the local history, and are easy to follow even for children.

As visitors take a look around the numerous inside rooms, the “tsĂ©” and “tzambron“, they can build up a realistic picture of the hard lives led by the local people in the past, governed by the slow rhythm of the work in the fields. The silence brings memories and imagination alive, and visitors can almost hear the ancient sounds of the village, smell the hay and the wheat and the animals. Every day in the summer, the museum “square” is filled with visitors chatting away just like the local mountain folk, and the museum becomes no longer a place to recall the past, but a lively, bustling present.

The tour ends with a visit to the mill, just a short distance away on the Petit Monde torrent.

In order to fully appreciate the place, the museum and the surrounding nature, it is advisable to walk to the museum, so you can admire the splendid views over Torgnon, the Valtournenche and the Matterhorn. The place can easily be reached on foot, although it is also accessible by car, along the same narrow asphalt road, popular with walkers, about 1.8 km long.

Biblioteca comunale
Loc. Capoluogo
11020 TORGNON (AO)
Telephone:(+39) 0166.540213
Fax:(+39) 0166.540679
E-mail: biblioteca@comune.torgnon.ao.it
Internet: http://www.torgnon.net
Notes:
Ufficio turistico di Torgnon (+39) 0166.540433 - (+39) 0166.540991

Tourist Office - Antey-Saint-André
P.zza A. Rolando
11020 ANTEY-SAINT-ANDRE' (AO)
Telephone:(+39) 0166.548266
Fax:(+39) 0166.548388
E-mail: antey@turismo.vda.it