What it tells
The Museum of the Mountain is not a museum to look at in silence. It is a multimedia installation built to be touched, walked on and crossed: an interactive floor, a sensory wall, double projection, multitouch tables where visitors reconstruct the everyday objects of the carbonari (charcoal-burners) and nevaroli (snow-gatherers) who worked the mountains of Nicosia until the Second World War.
The layout follows five themed rooms:
- Fauna and flora of the Sambughetti-Campanito reserve: the lanner falcon, the Sicilian pond turtle, the great beech forest — and vanished historic species such as the Sicilian wolf;
- Lakes and geology: orography of the massif, water lines, the Campanito lakes;
- Weapons and uniforms: military archaeology of inland routes;
- Mountain trades: interactive reconstructions of the charcoal-burner (controlled wood burning in carbonaie), the snow-gatherer (collection and conservation of snow in nevere for summer use), the blacksmith;
- Immersive room: 360° projection on park landscapes.
Who it’s for
The museum is designed for school groups and families: children 5-12 cross it laughing, but adults curious about the geography of trades will find dense material here too. Self-guided visit is 60-90 minutes; guided, 2 hours.
Educational programmes — “Charcoal-burner for a day”, “Blacksmith for a day” — run by booking for groups of 12-25 children.
What’s next
After the 2015 opening and the 2017 management concession, the museum opens mainly by booking and on scheduled occasions: check with the Municipality’s Tourism Office before visiting.
Getting there
The museum sits in the centre of Nicosia, inside the former San Martino barracks, a 5-minute walk from Piazza Garibaldi. Bus parking for school groups is available on request.
Where it is
Former San Martino barracks, Nicosia (Enna), Italy