Associazione Ursaria amici del museo, Orsara Bormida

The ethnographic museum of Orsara, hosted in the premises of the Municipality, was created in 1996 by a group of volunteers, following the first donation of ancient agricultural objects made by the never forgotten Guido Farinetti.

In the following years it has been enriched thanks to the generosity of the people of Orsara and beyond: today the Museum has many items of ancient personal and household linen, female and male accessories, a very rich sample of agricultural objects linked to the peasant civilization, household objects linked to the same archaic civilization, toys, old advertising signs, vintage photographs and newspapers, and some antique furniture.

The Museum is managed by the association “Ursaria Friends of the Museum” established in 1998 and of which almost all the families of the town are members. The association has revived ancient traditions and performs a social function by organizing exhibitions, concerts, local cultural events. It publishes a local newsletter, l’Orso, which serves as a bridge between the past and the present, offering historical memories together with current news from Orsara. The most precious paper document preserved in the museum is the war diary of Bernardo Zambado, a farmer from Rivalta, born in 1890, who went to war in June 1915, fallen in the Conca di San Martino on October 21, at the age of 25.

The peasant ethnographic museum publishes a quarterly periodical, which is sent to all members of the Ursaria Friends of the Museum Association (141 members) and free of charge to all the people of Orsara residing in Argentina. A large part of the population of Orsara emigrated to Argentina many years ago and still maintains contacts with the town of origin.