Walser Ecomuseum

The Ecomuseum is made up of three buildings that lead visitors on a voyage of discovery through the Walser culture:

Country House - Puròhus
Typical house from the 18th century, with the authentic atmosphere of a Walser home, featuring the “wohngade”, which was the very heart of the working activity of the inhabitants, with one part used as a shelter for the animals and the other for the family. The two parts were separated by a wooden partition. This coexistence between man and animals was designed to make the most of the heat generated by the latter. Visitors can also see the fine vaulted cellar and the hayloft, with a range of tools used for traditional trades.

House Museum - Pòtzschhus

In the rooms of this ‘stadel’, the dialect name for the typical Walser house, permanent exhibitions dedicated to the local area are held. The Monte Rosa room tells about the evolution of the glaciers over time, the peaks conquest and its protagonists, technical developments in the history of mountaineering and the fascinating story of how the large bronze ‘Cristo delle Vette’ statue was placed on the Rosa glacier, at 4170 m. Another section is dedicated to the history and work of the ‘Angelo Mosso Institute’ and ‘Regina Margherita’ science laboratories (the latter is set up in the refuge of the same name, the highest in Europe, at 4554 m), the sites of the first studies of the effects of altitude on man. An area is also dedicated to the Krämertal - the Valley of the Walser Merchants. The room on the first floor, also home to the Office Régional du Tourisme Tourist Office, hosts an exhibition on the history of the traditional local costume, famous for its beauty and elegance.

Binò Alpelté hut

This is the third building of the Ecomuseum, consisting of a small house in the hamlet of Binò that was once used, from June to the end of September, for the exploitation of the pastures located close to the village. It consists of two adjoining buildings, built under the shelter of a single natural boulder, the ‘balma’, which acts as a roof and protects them from avalanches and falling stones, to which the area is exposed during winter and spring. The largest space was used for the night shelter of about twenty animals, including milking cows and calves, while the other one was used for milk processing. Open only during the summer period according to availability, but it can also be reached independently by following path no. 15.