The project "Valle Olona (Olona Valley) Eco-Museum" comes from the will of the population and local associations who want, with the support of the institutions, recovering, enhancing and disseminating the history, the traditions and the culture of Olona Valley local area.
The "Il Piccolo Mondo Antico (The Little Ancient World)" association echoes this project to unite all reality interested in achieving the goal. The area includes fourteen municipalities in the Seprio and Middle Olona area, along the axis of the river Olona. The headquarters is in Castellanza (VA).
What is an Eco Museum
The term Eco Museum was thought by Hugues de Varine during a meeting with Georges Henri Rivière, director, ex-director and permanent advisor for ICOM (The International Council of Museums) and Serge Antoine, adviser at the Minister of the Environment. It was used for the first time in 1971 in a speech by the French Minister of the Environment, M.Robert Poujade, that used it to describe the work of a new ministry in training.
Before taking this definition, the Eco Museums were designed as instruments to protect the traces of rural societies in a time when urbanization, new advances in technology and the social changes, represented a real risk of complete oblivion of a old cultural heritage.
The Eco Museums operate on the community area and in its historical development, proposing as elements of the museum, not only objects of daily life but also the landscapes, architecture, know-how and the oral testimony of tradition.
The innovative concept has revolutionized the old concept of the museum, making it more alive and interactive. The Eco Museum is also involved in the promotion of teaching and the research, through the direct involvement of the population and local institutions.
The Olona Valley Eco Museum is also crossed by more than 20 Km pedestrian and bicycle track that run from Castellanza to Castiglione Olona (VA).
Info: ecomuseovalleolona.it
Written originally by: Fabio Sennhauser from labissa.com
Photo: The Sanctuary of "The Madonnetta of Gornate Olona" by Alberto Pala from ecomuseovalleolona.it