Museo delle Grigne

The Museo delle Grigne is the civic museum of Esino Lario, a municipality in the Province of Lecco, Lombardy, Italy. Founded in the 1930s and officially re-established in 1959, it holds the distinction of being the first local museum in the Province of Como. The institution preserves and presents collections spanning natural history, archaeology, and ethno-anthropology, with particular strengths in the fossils, minerals, and biodiversity of the Grigna mountain region. It is recognized by Regione Lombardia as a raccolta museale (museum collection).

The museum originated in the 1930s through the initiative of parish priest Giovanni Battista Rocca, a passionate botanist who sought to make the territory's peculiarities known to the public. Around 1936, Gallic and Roman tombs were discovered during construction at the margins of the town, yielding swords, tools, jewelry, terracotta vessels, and coins. Rocca gathered these archaeological finds along with plant collections and housed them in the cemetery chapel below the current parish church. The collection, enriched with fossils from Antonio Stoppani, was inaugurated in August 1947 in collaboration with the Società Geologica Lombarda. During World War II, much of the collection was dispersed, though archaeological specimens were safeguarded at the Museo di Varese. In 1957, Mayor Pietro Pensa led municipal efforts to revive the institution, and in 1959 the Museo delle Grigne was officially re-established in new premises in Piazza del Comune. A statute was granted in 1967, and in 1979 the museum became part of the Museo Territoriale della Comunità Montana Valsassina, Valvarrone, Val d'Esino e Riviera, coordinating with museums in Premana, Primaluna, and Varenna. Management was transferred in 1993 to the Associazione Amici del Museo delle Grigne (becoming Onlus in 1998), which also manages the Ecomuseo delle Grigne from 2008. The new headquarters in the garden of Villa Clotilde was completed in 2005 and inaugurated in April 2016, with contributions from Parco Regionale della Grigna Settentrionale.

The museum's collections span three principal domains: natural history, archaeology, and ethno-anthropology. The natural history holdings are particularly significant, featuring fossils, minerals, dioramas of animals, representations of phytoclimatic areas of Lake Como (Lario), and an extensive collection of Italian butterflies. The fossil collection reflects the extraordinary paleontological richness of the Grigna region's calcareous-dolomitic cliffs, which attracted scientists from around the world in the nineteenth century. Abate Antonio Stoppani described over 200 fossil forms in his monograph Les pétrifications d'Esino, including sponges, corals, crinoids, brachiopods, bivalves, gastropods, and cephalopods; today the known species exceed 250. The archaeological collection comprises materials from Celtic tombs found at Esino Superiore and Crès, as well as grave goods from a Roman tomb at Esino Inferiore. The ethno-anthropological holdings include a reconstruction of a 'Casel,' the typical mountain hut used by herdsmen in the area surrounding the town.

Among the museum's signature pieces are the fossil collections that document the Grigna region's international scientific reputation, including specimens studied by Antonio Stoppani. The butterfly collection, donated by Paolo Boncompagni, comprises 11 display cases of Italian butterflies. The beetle collection, donated by Elisabetta Redigolo, complements the entomological holdings. In 2012, both collections were transferred to the first floor of Villa Clotilde, where they were integrated into the sound art installation Animagus by Roberto Paci Dalò, combining natural history specimens with contemporary artistic intervention. The archaeological finds from Celtic and Roman tombs, including weapons, tools, jewelry, terracotta vessels, and coins, constitute significant material evidence of the area's ancient settlement. The reconstructed 'Casel' mountain hut represents the traditional pastoral architecture of the local maggenghi (mountain pastures).

The Museo delle Grigne occupies three distinct locations in Esino Lario. The historic seat is located in Piazza Pietro Pensa, where the reconstructed 'Casel' mountain hut can still be seen. The new headquarters, completed in 2005 and inaugurated in April 2016, stands at Via Montefiori 19 in the garden of Villa Clotilde; this space houses fossils, archaeological finds, ethno-anthropological materials, animal dioramas, and temporary exhibitions. An additional space on the first floor of Villa Clotilde accommodates the Italian butterfly collection, the beetle collection, and the animal diorama incorporated into the Animagus installation. The Villa Clotilde complex was developed in collaboration with Parco Regionale della Grigna Settentrionale, reflecting the museum's integration with regional park and territorial museum systems.

The Museo delle Grigne is located in Esino Lario, Province of Lecco, in the Lombardy region of Italy. The museum is owned by the municipality of Esino Lario and has been managed since 1990 by the Associazione Amici del Museo delle Grigne Onlus, a volunteer-based organization responsible for public opening hours, ordinary maintenance, and the organization of cultural initiatives and conferences related to local territory, culture, and history. It is part of the museum system of the Province of Lecco. Visitors can access the museum at its multiple sites: the historic location in Piazza Pietro Pensa and the newer facilities at Villa Clotilde on Via Montefiori 19, including both the garden pavilion and the first-floor space. The museum's official website is https://www.museodellegrigne.it/.