The Museo dell’Arpa Victor Salvi

The Museo dell’Arpa Victor Salvi, located at Piasco, at the entrance to the Varaita Valley, the area that used to be the old marquisate of Saluzzo, in the district of Cuneo, was inaugurated on 3 December 2005 and is managed by the Associazione Museo dell’ Arpa Victor Salvi.

It is the very first museum entirely dedicated to the harp, its history and music, in a multi-functional building with exhibition area, auditorium and historical archives now being prepared.

The Museum, promoted by the Comunità Montana Valle Variata, the Fondazione Victor Salvi and the company Salvi N.S.M. s.p.a. has been financed by the European Union F.E.S.R., the Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, the Regione Piemonte Direzione Industria-Turismo–Economia Montana, by G.A.L. (Tradizione delle Terre Occitane I.C. Leader AZ. 3.1) and N.S.M. s.p.a.

Work started in July 2004, the Musuem was inaugurated on 3 December 2005 and was opened to the public on 28 January 2006.

The Design of the Museo dell’Arpa

The Museo dell’Arpa Victor Salvi is like a precious casket set on top of the Salvi factory, an industrial building, the former Wild cotton-mill dating back to the 19th. century. Entrance to the Musuem is up a wide spiral staircase suspended from metal ropes recalling the strings and sinuous shape of the harp.

The building was designed by the architect Dario Castellino to imitate the body of a harmonica lined with wood on the inside and metal on the outside, an abstract place intentionally detached from life. On the exterior the reflective walls are removed from the warmth of the exposed brickwork of the old building below but are connected to the rearward silos and tanks of the industrial area.

The interior is homogeneous and linear, with walls, flooring and ceiling in wood and glazed for the entire height. THe space is given rhythm by a play of exterior and interior with large openings in the roof giving views of the sky and a large window that opens onto the inside of the factory so you can see the harp making in progress and higher up you can see a view of the woods sloping down the mountainside to the valley.

Near the entrance there is the ticket office and sales area. On the right you can go through into the auditorium and cloakrooms while on the left is the museum area.

Architectural design :
Architetto Dario Castellino.

Exhibition designer of “Tre secoli di arpe”:
Architetto Didier Blin.

Publishers:
Studio Bosio Associati