Ecomuseum of the Nail Makers – Ancient Forge

Site overview

In the central part of the Lanzo Valleys, several villages lived for centuries, at least since the Middle Ages, on artisanal activities linked to the exploitation of local mineral resources: in Mezzenile, Pessinetto, and Traves, nails of every shape and size were manufactured in countless forges, while in Ceres and its surroundings, locks were produced and assembled; these activities went into crisis and disappeared in the second half of the last century.

While the foundries belonged to merchants, the forges—small stone buildings covered with stone slabs (lose), mostly located next to watercourses—were almost always family-run, and up to sixteen nail makers worked in them.

The numerous windows, essential for illuminating the work environment, did not have glass, which was too expensive, but greaseproof paper that provided shelter from the cold air during the long winters. At the center of the forge, there was always the fire used to heat the iron to make it malleable.

The nail makers worked many hours a day, bent over the cupo (anvil block) striking with force to manufacture the nails, and often, for this reason, they suffered permanent malformations. Very few artisans were able to make all types of nails, as some of these, for example those for mountain boots, were the prerogative of a few specialists.

In the Municipality of Mezzenile, which for centuries lived thanks to the production of nails (in 1867 in Mezzenile there were 500 nail makers out of a population of about 2600 inhabitants), an interesting ecomuseum has been founded in honor of the nail makers, which is worth a visit for the collection of tools and the historical atmosphere it preserves.