Here I am to tell you about one of my latest favorite trips to the small and charming town of Vellano, located in the Pescia area of Switzerland, so called for its beauty and its lands which recall the Swiss lands. I went here in early September when the climate was still mild, with the truly summer sun, in fact walking along all those uphill streets made us sweat a lot! We went to Vellano to visit the frugiata festival, which is a type of chestnut cooked on special pans with holes over a fire, a real delight. And also to visit the miner's museum, really an interesting place. I love itÂ
We went here by car and it was not easy to find parking, Vellano is in a mountain area with many hairpin bends and during the festival every corner was full, to get to the town there are a couple of climbs after which you arrive at an open space with a beautiful view over the entire valley, the town is typically medieval with ancient stones as soon as you enter it winds through a maze of very particular, narrow and steep streets, after a short walk we found a group of typical local dancers dancing to old folk music, it was very nice to see them dance.
After the show we went down to the main square, where we decided to make a stop at the miners' museum which we really liked, it is a very small museum with only three rooms but full of unusual objects belonging to miners of every era, oh yes because you should know that Vellano is also famous for its quarries and for a history made up of many families of miners who gradually abandoned the area to migrate towards the city and find less demanding work.
Among the objects there were kettles used by miners to have drinking water, saws and hacksaws, scales of various shapes, ages and colors, many oil lamps, both the oldest and the first electric lamps. I can't imagine how dangerous and ugly it was to work. in the mines with only those little lights. Old dosers, lenses for studying minerals and old transmitters and electrical panel objects from the mid-twentieth century.
The museum contains a lot of mining archeology objects from various eras, the collection of water bottles of all types and capacities, gas masks and many simple and precise work tools for excavations is also very beautiful.
The museum is archaeological and ethnological, there are also some skeletons and very well made plastic reproductions of the miners, lots of pickaxes and hatchets, I can't imagine the effort these poor men had in the mines, especially in more remote times!
The museum really houses a lot of things all described with a special plate with the year or owner, there are also paintings dedicated to the miners and objects that were given as gifts to their bosses because they were defined as ethnic and valuable, practically the museum is a journey through objects of life of generations of miners, I found it super fascinating and spent a long time looking at the objects.
After the visit to the museum we continued through the streets of the town lined with craft and costume jewelery stalls, the market was small but it really had many interesting artisan products and also some stalls with local products such as food, honey, salami and obviously chestnuts! Among the artisans there were those who worked with leather, those who offered handmade cushions and bags, those who offered jewelery and accessories, there were really many nice things.
Then we finally reached the Piazza delle Frugiate where a large pan full of hot and fragrant chestnuts was waiting for us! Everyone gravitated towards the chestnuts and there was a fantastic smell everywhere, obviously we immediately took two portions of frugiate.
But since we weren't full and there was a stand nearby with fabulous sandwiches, we got two sandwiches with salami and raw ham, a timeless Tuscan classic! Both excellent and with delicious bread! We then continued the evening in the square where a girl was playing a violin in a very beautiful and relaxing atmosphere, we waited for the sunset and then we started to go back up towards the car park otherwise afterwards it would have been too dark. I loved the atmosphere of Vellano, its smells and flavors and also its history of mining, I hope to be able to return here again next year!