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MAV - MUSEUM OF TRADITIONAL VAL D’AOSTAN HANDICRAFTS

logo_marchio_mav MAV is an acronym which stands for “Museo dell’Artigianato Valdostano di tradizione”, that is “Museum of traditional Val d’Aostan handicrafts”. As a museum it is unique among its kind; its mission is to give value to Val d’Aostan cultural patrimony, made of traditional matters, places, objects of everyday use now almost completely disappeared from our households, and sculptures. One might be tempted to think that all this appertains to a distant past, but in reality it is still alive in the memories of our grandparents. The museum does not present itself as a nostalgic return to the past, so much as a meeting place for the Valle d’Aosta’s past and modern culture.

The MAV’s symbol is the “berdgi” (le berger, the shepherd), as represented in the work of Dorino Ouvrier which can be seen at the museum’s entrance. Until a few decades ago farming was no doubt one of the most important elements of Valle d’Aostan culture: almost everybody had cows and in the summer families moved up onto the mountain pasture with their herds, to then come back down again in the autumn. Ouvrier’s work of art also suggests the very strong bond between the craftsman and Valle d’Aostan culture: in fact a considerable amount of the objects used in the past were hand-crafted.

The exhibition leads us through five thematic areas, which sum up Valle d’Aostan cultural patrimony:

1) The materials used by the craftsmen and women, such as wool, stone, wood and iron.

2) The domestic sphere – sub-divided into “méizon”, “peillo”, cups, “grolle” (local wooden goblets) and crucifixes – offers a reproduction of everyday life in the past, with objects that we don’t have no more in our households.

3) The outside – comprised of “la grandze” (granary/hayloft), “lo baou” (stables), “la crotta” (cellar), “la cor” (courtyard) and “la remiza” (shed). Most of the working activities in those days were carried out in this area.

4) The social sphere – that is “l’école” (school), “la chapelle” (chapel), “la laiterie” (the dairy), “l’atelier” (the craft’s workshop), “le four à pain” (the baker’s oven).

5) The area dedicated to poetical research, sculpture and decoration, that underline the emotional side of the artisan-craftsman, which drive the magical moment of creation.

6) The “Fiera di Sant’Orso” – where sculptures and objects in wood, stone and iron are exhibited – just an example of the things that you can find every year at the Sant’Orso Fair.

From time to time the MAV hosts private collections and exhibitions dedicated, for example, to a particular crafts technique, to a particular working material or to a particular craftsman.

Useful information

icona October/April 10.00 / 17.00. Closed on Monday.