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Corkscrew Museum |
| INFORMATION Opening hours: every day 10.00 -13.00, 14.00-18.30, public holidays included.
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NEW! "VINI E VINACCE" is our new wine store with tasting weekends and a special grappa section, along via Roma 48. Come for a visit! TEMPORARY EXHIBITION "Perfume of corkscrews: the aristocracy of corkscrews among medicines, essences and perfumes". On display many miniature corkscrews made in precious materials and dating back to 1600s. TEMPORARY EXHIBITION "Romano Levi in 100 bottles": exhibition of 100 historical bottles of grappa by Romano Levi, with their famous labels painted by hand.
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Visit of the collection on your own: 4 euros full admission, 3 euros reductions (panels are in Italian, English and German). In addition to the entrance fee you can add the following options: Guided tour: starting from the birth and the evolution of the corkscrew, you will be introduced to a detailed description of the most interesting pieces of our collection. Approx. time: 30 min + 10 € for the whole group (max 25 people). The guided tour can take place in Italian, English, French, German or Spanish language, on reservation. |
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| When, how, and where did the corkscrew emerge? Opening a bottle is a ritual that has always had something 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 pharmacist born in Turin, who moved to the Langhe some 20 years ago. He set up his shop in a wonderful spot, a former wine cellar with brick-lined vaulted ceilings, thanks to the cooperation with the talented architects Danilo Manassero and Luigi Ferrando from Alba and the cabinetmaker Massimo Ravera from Bene Vagienna. 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. Then the visitors can admire 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 artists and goldsmiths. In the museum nothing has been neglected. The educational purpose is 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 so brilliantly in capturing the interest of the visitor, that a stop at the Corkscrew Museum has become a "must" for both Italian and foreign visitors, while going around Barolo and the Langhe. A separate section of the collection is devoted to antique postcards with corkscrews as their main 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 visitors can also take advantage of a free connection to the website of the Langhe and Roero Tourist Board in order to gain information about the region's wineries, restaurants, hotels, farm-houses, castles, wine shops and cultural events. Just one more reason not to miss a visit to this unique and thoroughly enjoyable museum. |
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