Section 1

Have you ever wondered what people's daily lives were like in centuries past and how habits have changed?The Val Varatella Ethnographic Museum tells us just that: the story of how professions, customs, and everyday life have evolved over time.The building we are standing in now is 600 years old, in itself a silent witness to the history of the village of Toirano: the Palace of the Counts D'Aste, which passed to the Marquises del Carretto of the Balestrino branch in the 19th century. Your tour will start on the ground floor and proceed to the first floor. This first part of the route focuses on sharing the ethnographic story. You will find collections of work tools and materials related to daily life in the Toirano valley and Liguria. You will travel through 18 sections on a journey through time, from the 17th century to the 1940s.And not only artefacts await you: to recreate the atmosphere of the time, the ambience of the rooms has also been accurately reconstructed.You then leave the lower floors and go to the Piano Nobile, or Main Floor, in the second part of the exhibition. Here, you will find yourself immersed in the life of the aristocratic D'Aste and Del Carretto families, among examples of furniture, ceramics, furnishings and textiles actually used by the local nobility in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Before we begin, we would like to thank all those who, since 1980, have contributed with their donations to enhancing the richness and variety of the exhibits.In fact, back in the 1980s, the Museum began as a small collection focused entirely on olive cultivation and oil production in Toirano. Since its official establishment in 1997, the Museum has grown year by year, thanks to the ongoing support and care of the local community. For over 30 years, the collections have been curated by Orlando Boccone, with the aim of offering a complete and detailed picture of the traditional customs of Toirano and the wider Ligurian area. We hope you’ll enjoy exploring our past. Have a wonderful visit!