Sacred Art Museum of Forno

The sacred art Museum of Forno preserves the vestments and vessels of the churches and oratories of the upper Valstrona: its seat is in two rooms of the sacresty in the parish church. Five-hundred works among wooden sculptures, paintings, hangings, vestments and banners starting from the XVth century, are arranged.
The wooden sculptures are particularly interesting. They witness that "mountain culture", that expressed itself just through the realization of wooden works: and therefore, statues, altars, crucifixes, chandeliers, reliquaries, tabernacles.
This "mountain culture" was a kind of imprinting, that involved also those who, above all for job reasons, left Valstrona to go abroad : the gifts to the birth-land witness that the capability to work the wood did't vanish.
Among the most prestigious works, we mention a "Madonna del Rosario" from the half of the XIIth century; two couples of golden and polychrome reliquary-busts; a marvellous "Vergine della Pietà" from early XVIIIth century, obtained from an only trunk, the star-shaped base included.
Then the votive table, through which it is possible to go back to the important events of ancient times (for instance the big snowfall of 1888, when in less than 24 hours two metres of snow fell down; or the shipwreck of 1805 of the steamer carrying the emigrants to America).
Together with the wooden works, a particular attention should be payed to silver and different metal manufactured articles.
The specimens of textile art, which are kept in the Museum, are many, as, since the XVIIth century, the parish churches of the diocese provided themselves uniformly with silk vestments in the liturgical colours. The collection shows the evolution of both the taste and the tussues.
At last the Museum exhibits several paintings, most of local artists; there are also works from abroad given by the emigrants.

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