The Messner Mountain Museum Firmian is the first and main site of the museum circuit conceived by the South Tyrolean mountaineer Reinhold Messner, set within the walls of Castel Firmiano, a fortress on the summit of a hill overlooking the city of Bolzano.
What to see
The exhibition route winds among the towers, rooms and courtyards of the castle and offers an overview of the theme of the mountain, with works, mementos and natural finds that tell of the relationship between man and the mountain, the birth of mountain ranges, the majesty of the most famous peaks and the history of mountaineering. The restoration of the castle and the fitting out of the exhibition spaces were entrusted to the architect Werner Tscholl, who made it accessible with a modern steel-and-glass superstructure, so that the original elements of the castle could be fully protected.
The Messner Mountain Museum (MMM) circuit is divided into six sites scattered across the Alpine arc: the main site is at Castel Firmiano, near Bolzano, while the others are inside Castel Juval, in the Val Venosta, devoted to the myth and sacredness of the mountain; at Solda, devoted to the world of ice; at Forte Monte Rite at Cibiana di Cadore, devoted to rock and Dolomite mountaineering; in the castle of Brunico, devoted to the peoples of the mountains; and at Plan de Corones, in a structure designed by the architect Zaha Hadid, devoted to the history of mountaineering. The museum is directed by the mountaineer's daughter, Magdalena Messner.
Visiting
The museum is inside Castel Firmiano, above Bolzano; opening hours, tickets and connections should be checked on the circuit's official site, because the sources consulted do not give them.
Our editors' tip
Look at how the modern steel-and-glass structure fits between the towers and courtyards: it was designed to make the castle accessible without touching its original elements.
