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Hours: 10.00 am-1.00 pm; 2.00 pm-6.30 daily, holidays included.
Closed: Thursdays (open during October)
Holidays: January and February
Entrance fee: € 4.00 general; € 3.00 discount (groups, Touring Club Italiano, Eventi Card, Uscire Card)
Handicapped: Free.
Discount agreements: - Carta Musei Torino Piemonte 2007
- Touring Club Italiano: reduced fee and 10% on purchases
- Eventi Card: reduced fee
- Uscire Card: reduced fee
Guided visit 1: 'With the collector': Guided visit with the collector and detailed description of objects on display (by reservation).
Guided visit 2:
'Ancient corkscrews and Barolo tasting': Non-guided visit, followed by opening of bottles of Barolo by the visitor with ancient corkscrews and tasting of Barolo, King of Wines (by reservation).
Guided visit 3: 'With the collector, ancient corkscrews and Barolo tasting' Guided visit with the collector plus detailed description of objects on display, followed by opening of bottles of Barolo by the visitor with ancient corkscrews and tasting of Barolo, King of Wines (by reservation).
Guided visit 4: 'Educational tour for school groups - a stroll through culture': Guided tour of the museum, followed by demonstration of corking of bottles with ancient corking machine, then bottle-opening with ancient corkscrews. Optional guided tour to a winery in the area of Barolo, the King of Wines (by reservation)
Tourist Information: Free service
Internet access: At € 2.00 per 15 minutes, € 1.00 each successive 10 minutes.
Bookshop: Free entrance. Sales of books, magazines, ancient and modern corkscrews, wine-related items, souvenirs, postcards, posters, accessories, food products traditional to the Langhe.
Credit cards accepted: VISA, VISA Electron, MasterCard, CartaŚ, Maestro, Bancomat.
Display of modern and ancient bottles of Barolo.
Location: Historical centre of Barolo, next to the Castello Falletti di Barolo.
Museum description: When, how, and where did the corkscrew emerge? Opening a bottle is a ritual that has always had something of the magical about it: all eyes are fixed on the person who is carrying out the operation. The metal capsule is removed, and the tip of the corkscrew is carefully positioned in the centre of the cork. The worm penetrates the cork and, finally, with just the right amount of force, the cork emerges from the bottle with a slight pop; the cork is examined and sniffed to see if it carries any unpleasant odour. The nectar of the gods is now ready to be served and tasted.
We are all used to using this object for opening our bottles; it has become an everyday, automatic operation that allows us access to one of life's pleasures. This very operation gave birth to a passion for collecting corkscrews in Paolo Annoni, a druggist born in Turin but who moved to the Langhe some 20 years ago. He set up shop in a wonderful spot, an ex-wine cellar with brick-lined vaulted ceilings, then utilised the talented services of Alba architects Danilo Manassero and Luigi Ferrando and of cabinetmaker Benevagienna Massimo Ravera.
The Museo dei Cavatappi (Corkscrew Museum) offers 500 specimens from the 18th century to today, of various artistic periods, countries, and types. The display is designed to trace the birth and evolution through the centuries of this accessory of everyday use. Beginning with the 'suspended corkscrews' and the various corkscrew terms, we are gradually guided along, admiring the simple 'T' screws in wood, iron, aluminium, brass, bone, horn, ebony, mother-of-pearl, bronze, ivory, silver tortoise-shell… We then enter the era of inventiveness, with levers, screws, and complex mechanisms such as the double-screw, one left-directed the other right, one inserted within the other. Section 19 presents decorative and figured corkscrews, as well as pocket and advertising models, multi-use extractors, those with animal and erotic themes, plus miniature openers for perfume and medicine bottles, and art-object openers. Nobles and religious figures had them decorated with their coat-of-arms and their initials, designed in precious materials by the best artist and goldsmiths.
In the museum, nothing has been neglected. The educational thrust and cultural popularisation are obvious in the explanatory texts (in three languages: Italian, English, German), while the precious objects themselves are housed in cases that truly match the beauty of their contents, with fascinating images alternating with intricately-drawn illustrative panels. Paolo Annoni has succeeded brilliantly in capturing the interest of the visitor, so much so that word of mouth, both in Italy and abroad, has made a stop at the Museo dei Cavatappi a 'must' for anyone who stops over in Barolo or the Langhe. A separate section of the collection is devoted to postcards of the past with corkscrews as their theme. The ample coverage of the museum is complemented by an initial hall, with no charge for entrance, dominated by a spacious, superb panorama of a Barolo vineyard, a work of the famous photographer of Alba, Bruno Murialdo. The visitor will also be able to examine an extensive display of bottles from all of the Barolo producers of the area, a bookshop with books, magazines, ancient and modern corkscrews, wine-related items, souvenirs, postcards, posters, accessories, food products traditional to the Langhe. Here the visitor to Barolo can also take advantage of Internet access, for a fee, and a free connection to the website of the Ente Turismo Alba Bra Langhe e Roero in order to gain information about the region's wineries, restaurants, hotels, agritourisms, castles, enotecas, and cultural events. Just one more reason not to miss a visit to this unique and thoroughly enjoyable museum.
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