The current museum was established in the 1960s when a group of young locals, passionate about their place, traditions, and the local history of the two towns, began to collect local crafts and carefully listened to and recorded the stories of the elders they interviewed. It was also understood that it was necessary to rediscover the old mule paths that had nearly been forgotten, as well as all the characteristic aspects of the two communities. Initially, the work was done with great enthusiasm but in a somewhat unorganized manner.
They collected valuable documents and some objects even without the means to preserve them properly, let alone exhibit them in public displays. There was no museum, and there was still a lack of awareness about the need for one.
The museum
But when the municipality of Quarna Sotto sold the beam of the large press as simple wood, for a small amount of money, the situation changed very quickly.
In fact, this press was built in 1744 to squeeze nuts, as well as fruit and grape bunches. This imposing press was equipped with an 11-meter-long walnut beam.
This event marked a turning point and made it clear that there was a historical and cultural value far more important than the meager commercial value of many old objects that risked being forgotten and irretrievably lost.
From that moment on, efforts began to collect all the furnishings and objects from past eras, with help from everyone, particularly from some of the elderly residents.
To encourage the entire population to assist in this collection, an exhibition was improvised in 1960 in a classroom made available by the parish. The parish priest at the time, Don Luciano Bianchi, was a passionate supporter of the idea and this initiative for both towns.
The first permanent exhibition was inaugurated a few years later, in 1972.
It was immediately understood that the uniqueness, and therefore the value of Quarna, was represented by its artisanal tradition of producing musical instruments, which was certainly unique in the area and practically unmatched in other places in the world, especially considering the mountainous context in which it was situated. It is worth noting that when the production of wind instruments began, starting with Agostino Rampone and continuing into the years after 1900, the towns of Quarna could only be reached by a mule path, and the finished instruments for sale were carried down the mountain in baskets on the backs of the artisans.
Then, in 1975, the group of friends, which had recently formed into an association, had the opportunity to use two classrooms provided by the municipality, where they exhibited both the musical instruments in their possession and other original objects from the mountain agricultural tradition, managing to reconstruct a typical kitchen from the 1800s and an equally faithful reconstruction of a bedroom from the 1900s.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Fernando Saltamerenda, then owner of the Rampone & Cazzani wind instrument factory, made a generous donation aimed at the construction of a new exhibition space, which eventually led to the current building of the museum. This was inaugurated on July 8, 1989.