The Ronco Canavese copper forge constitutes the main nucleus of the Copper Ecomuseum, which is part of the network of ecomuseums of the Province of Turin.
In the Forge, which dates back to 1675, it is possible to retrace the ancient stages of copper processing according to the iron and steel techniques of the pre-industrial period, when blast furnaces ran on charcoal and the energy for moving machinery was water.
In the premises next to the Forge, a modern didactic workshop has been set up with audiovisual equipment and a multimedia station where short documentaries illustrating the daily use of copper artefacts in traditional farming activities: milking, butter and cheese preparation.
There is also an exhibition dedicated to the ’magnin’, the itinerant cauldrons typical of the Soana Valley, who set off in search of pots and cauldrons to repair, travelling through the valleys and plains on both sides of the Alps. An itinerant trade, that of the magnin, who crossed mountains and plains to sell and repair copper objects that were very common at the time. Having entered a crisis with the First World War, the magnin trade disappeared definitively with the great emigration after the Second World War. In order to keep the memory of this valley alive, the Ecomuseo del Rame (Copper Ecomuseum) was established, which has its headquarters in an old copper forge. The ’Catalan-style’ forge has been restored and opened to the public.
In the Forge, which dates back to 1675, it is possible to retrace the ancient stages of copper processing according to the iron and steel techniques of the pre-industrial period, when blast furnaces ran on charcoal and the energy for moving machinery was water.
In the premises next to the Forge, a modern didactic workshop has been set up with audiovisual equipment and a multimedia station where short documentaries illustrating the daily use of copper artefacts in traditional farming activities: milking, butter and cheese preparation.
There is also an exhibition dedicated to the ’magnin’, the itinerant cauldrons typical of the Soana Valley, who set off in search of pots and cauldrons to repair, travelling through the valleys and plains on both sides of the Alps. An itinerant trade, that of the magnin, who crossed mountains and plains to sell and repair copper objects that were very common at the time. Having entered a crisis with the First World War, the magnin trade disappeared definitively with the great emigration after the Second World War. In order to keep the memory of this valley alive, the Ecomuseo del Rame (Copper Ecomuseum) was established, which has its headquarters in an old copper forge. The ’Catalan-style’ forge has been restored and opened to the public.
c/o Fucina del Rame - Frazione Castellaro - 10080, Ronco Canavese