Maison de Cogne “Gerard-Dayne”, Cogne

The Maison de Cogne Gérard-Dayné is one of the greatest examples of traditional Aosta Valley architecture; it is an ancient rural house, documented as early as the 17th century, which was donated by its last owners to the municipal administration in order to allow the restoration and enjoyment of this important testimony of times gone by.

The Maison is located in Sonveulla, one of the historical areas of the village, one of the centers from which the centuries-old history of Cogne began.

The building, particularly complex, highlights the main aspects of “wood and stone” architecture and the typical spaces of the Cogne house: the guided tour allows visitors to admire the cor, an internal covered space that served as the entrance, the beu, the place of domestic life and the cohabitation between man and animal (which in Cogne persisted until the 20th century), the mézòn de fouà, in the stone part of the house (pèira), the area for processing milk and food products for the family.

The underground cellars show the places where food (cheese, vegetables, wine) was stored during the long winter months.

The large barn, with its imposing structure made of sturdy wooden beams, has been converted into a space for temporary exhibitions; there is also a room entirely dedicated to the costume of Cogne.

From summer 2011, two rooms of the old house display the objects of the Ceriana Collection, a collection of antique objects donated by Mrs. Ceriana to the Cogne community to be exhibited at the Maison de Cogne Gérard-Dayné.