PROJECT FOUNDATION MUSEOVANSERAF:
MILL OF DOSSO

The museum is under construction, and it is part of the museums tour in the Sondrio province. The site is visited and known regionally as a depositor of popular and pesant culture in Valgerola. The event took place in 1998, opening to the public with free tours. The mill is fully functioning and aligns two millstones to grind every kind of cereals. Our preferred milling, is the native corn for polenta.

From 2010, the Museovanseraf Mill of Dosso, being on the territory of the nascent ECOMUSEUM OF VALGEROLA, becomes a part of it, with the right and pleasure to be working as a place of cultural traditions of the valleys.
The permanent exhibition of MUSEOVANSERAF has equipment of great historical interest concerning the Province of Sondrio and has books and videos covering didactic culture of farming of the territory and tell the history of food. To the eye of the visitors in the Museum are placed two mills, one with wooden mechanisms built in the early Nineteenth century, with the advent of hydraulic power milling.

It’s not missing the “pila” (medieval mill with double mortar) to husk barley and rye. Another tool is the carved oil mill of the Costa, discovered in the homonymous locality, near by Sacco Inferiore (dating back to Sixteenth century). It was used to draw oil from the nuts. It is possible to observe tools as concave stone and rotatory manual mills for grinding buckwheat.

Of historical value is also an old mill found at Sacco Inferiore, from excavations that took place near by the Dominicans convent in 1667. Another iron tool was donated by the Buzzetti firm of Morbegno. It is the old hammer that beat out the forgings turning them into hoes and shovels, to work the land products.

The intent of the Museum of Dosso Mill: together with the ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF POLENTA MAIZE is to keep it alive, to have some field where to plant our good seeds that are dispersing because of non-cultivation.
For small farmers there is the opportunity to regain significant market niches, with our seeds of native corn, well acclimatized and exclusive to cook the yellow and original polenta taragna of the Valgerola, dressed with our Bitto cheese. This polenta unfortunately is almost forgotten because of introduction of mixed flour never or just a little sown in Valtellina. In our intent do not forget the chestnut: too many farmers have ceased to cultivate varieties of the valleys with the typical processes of traditional desiccation.
The mill is located on the territory of Rasura but is completed by the part of the OPEN AIR MUSEUM in the district of Sacco Inferiore (Cosio) where are included: chestnut and walnut trees to maintain variety of the "marroncino" chestnut of Sacco and six houses belonging to XV-XVII and XVIII centuries, located in the historic center. Serafino Vaninetti House, where you can observe a loom of the Nineteenth century belonging to Orsola Zugnoni of Mellarolo (Cosio), which used to weave the canvas from hemp fibers.

The Museovanseraf Mill of Dosso, should excite even the City of Morbegno: The story goes that the Contrada of Sacco Inferiore, formerly included the neighboring town of Campione (Bona Lombarda) and San Carlo, and between the two communities there was a pact of union. The former border with Morbegno was the Bitto torrent for its entire length up to the Adda River. It was a true union, which included even the burial of deceased residents at Sacco Inferiore in the San Martino cemetery located in Morbegno. The displacement of Morbegno toward the west, across the Bitto, seems to have happened in 1530, since the inhabitants in such area, have for long time participated at the civil and religious life of the municipality..

Of course the project and the foundation of Museovanseraf, is a call for cultural interests, of approach to the common history between the many families that from Sacco went to live in Morbegno, among which that of Malaguccini. Many Sacco families are successfully settled in Morbegno, like that of the founder of the Museovanseraf Mill of Dosso, which is located in Via Borgo Salvo, where is arranged a permanent exhibition: 100 years of popular music, FROM GRAMOPHONE TO DIGITAL, with possibility to visit it on request. Serafino Vaninetti

• Maize, buckwheat and rye milling with double millstone water driven.
• Medieval pila with double mortar (family mill for husking rice and barley).
• Oil mill of the Costa, XVI century dated, to draw oil from nuts.
• Rotatory manual mill for buckwheat milling.
• Press for grapes used by the families of Bema (age: XVIII century).
• Greedy mill used by the Dominican friars discovered at Sacco Inferiore, dated 1667.
• Show-room with exposition of tools of disappeared crafts.

• A Nineteenth-century loom belonging to Mrs. Ursula Zugnoni, Mellarolo (Valgerola) for the hemp weaving.
• The "caneva": archaic room used for the seasoning of sausages and cheeses
• Winery and wine press for grapes (donated by Lanza Giuseppe from Bema)
• Visit to the chestnuts grove that protects the variety of small chestnut called “marroncino” (now going to be dispersed).
• Wallnut plant that regenerates the abandoned meadows