The Museum of Archeology and Paleontology of Borgosesia is dedicated to Carlo Conti (1880-1974), who was a sculptor and Honorary Inspector of the Archaeological Superintendency of Piedmont (1923-1954).
His research was published and the scientific studies he undertook are still essential for the knowledge of Valsesian archeology today; his involvement in the reinforcement of the Banaccio Aqueduct led to the finding of numerous objects from the necropolis of Seso, the ancient name of Borgosesia.
Outside the regional territory, Conti was also responsible for the cataloguing and surveying of over 40,000 rock engravings of Monte Bego. He was the first to study them by creating plaster casts.
1931The passion for the archeology of the entire areaAlthough personalities such as Pietro Calderini (1824-1906), Federico Tonetti (1845-1911) and Abbot Antonio Famine (1825-1908), were the first to show an interest in the geology and history of Monte Fenera during the second half of the Nineteenth Century, it is actually with Carlo Conti that the passion for the archeology of the entire area was born. In 1931, in his work Valsesia Archeologica, Conti suggested to set up a genuine archaeological museum of the valley, thus anticipating the institution that today bears his name. The Museum, created around Conti ‘s collections, keeps and exhibits paleontological and archaeological objects also coming from the excavations he conducted from the 1930s onwards, subsequently continued by numerous scholars, including Federico Strobino (1915-2000) and Francesco Fedele.
- Archaeological and Speleological Group of Borgosesia1950
The G.A.S.B (Archaeological and Speleological Group of Borgosesia) founded in the early 1950s by Attilio Zanni, was the result of the collaboration among passionate amateurs and experts in speleology and archaeology. The association worked alongside researchers who carried out numerous archaeological expeditions in the area during the 1960s and 1970s. The caves were studied more and more systematically by Isetti, Fedele and Professor Chiarelli, director at the time of the Institute of Anthropology of Turin, thanks to the involvement and guidance of Federico Strobino.
2007Carlo Conti Museum was bornIn 2007, by will of the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Piedmont, the current archaeological and paleontological museum was inaugurated, as an acknowledgment of past decades of research.
The tradition of studies and excavations continues today with the campaigns conducted by the Universities of Ferrara and Geneva. Their work, besides giving new impetus to scientific research, proves to be essential for the review of the objects already exhibited in the museum or stored in deposits.
The archaeological collection testifies the constant human presence in the territory from Middle Paleolithic to the 19th Century: lithic tools and prehistoric ceramic artifacts come mainly from Monte Fenera; funerary equipment from the Iron Age and the Roman era were found in ancient Seso and indicate that during this period the settlement moved to the area of current Borgosesia; remains of a cave settlement, assorted with artisanal activity, indicate that during the early Middle Ages man returned at least partially to the caves; objects from the Vanzone castle describe human activities from the Late Middle Ages to the 19th Century.
