The Museum of Alpine Farming: guided itineraries between Italy and Switzerland

The project Museum of Alpine Farming (i.e. “Museo dell’Alpeggio”) is placed within the EEC project Interreg III between Italy and Switzerland, as border Countries. This initiative has met the mountain’s development and promotion need and aimed to put environment, culture, crafts and local products into value. The project, within several partnerships, has considered an assortment of actions: summer pastures farms survey, alpine dairy products characterization, drawing up of an alpine farming management guide, the creation of routes between Italian and Swiss alpine pastures (initiative called ”Alpine pastures without borders”). In parallel with these initiatives a Museum of “alpeggio” has been created, as a centre of interests and documentation upon the alpine farming systems between Italy and Swiss connected by San Giacomo pass (2313 m a.s.l). It is deemed to be both an instrument to present to a wide public the alpine farming and its activities such as important elements of the alpine cultural identity as a strategic resource for mountain economy. The Museum (Documentation centre) of alpine farming is located in the protected area of the Alpe Devero-Veglia Natural Park in the premises of the former arrival of an air cableway station and of the near buildings in the Baceno commune. The Museums’ initiatives bound to the project have didactic and research aims and includes schooland tourists- oriented museum itineraries through setting up of different features (infrastructures, route markings, leaflets and multimedia).