The first nucles of the Museum of iron was set up in 2015, taking up only one part of the lounge of the wool mill that hosts it. In 2021, it was enriched and reorganized, reaching its current form.
It represents an example and an evidence of the rich heritage manufactured over the years by the blacksmiths who took part in the editions of the Iron ”Biennale” by participating in the forging contests, whose milestones are retraced by the museum. The accomodating lounge, to be visited starting from the left-hand side, begins with a 1981 work (the oldest one) called “The old man and the stick” (“Il vecchio e il bastone”). It is followed by the ones from 1995 and 1997, made when the competition was still an “extemporaneous contest of forging”; it then became, since 2001, “world championship of forging“.
The works of the museum, standing on wood shelves placed in chronological order, have captions on them about the artist’s name (or artists’ name in the case of the team competition), the nationality, the work’s title, the year of realisation, the theme for the competition and the final ranking positions.
The lounge welcomes also some works considered worth mentioning by blacksmith masters or industry experts, in addition to the other editions’ winning ones; moreover, it hosts some winning sculptures from the sculpture contest, which are not suited to being exposed outdoor due to their structural characteristics.Â
Lastly, it’s worth reporting a door made of iron, realized in Stia in September 2022, during the meeting of the European Cities of iron which adhered to the “Ring of the European Cities of iron works”: every nation listed in the event forged one of the tiles the door is composed of.
