Museum visits · Brunico · Italy
The MMM Ripa in Brunico castle
Reinhold Messner's museum of the mountain peoples, from the cellar to the panoramic tower
The castle on the hill above Brunico has housed the MMM Ripa since 2011, the museum Reinhold Messner devoted to the peoples of the mountains: ripa, in Tibetan, means mountain man. The route climbs along with the building, from the cellar with the objects of the peoples of Africa and Oceania to the first floor of the Caucasus and the Alps, to the second floor of religions, and up to the tower. The refurbishment set wood, glass and steel against the bishops' medieval walls, and the contrast shows. From the top of the tower you look out over the Brunico basin, Plan de Corones and the Aurina valley.
Getting there
- From the centre you cross the Stadtgasse, the pedestrian street between the Ragen gate and the Ursuline gate, and come out at the foot of the hill
- A scenic path climbs from there through meadows and trees, on a gentle gradient
- In winter the path can be snowy or icy: non-slip soles or light crampons are needed
- Anyone arriving on wheels will find a paying public car park on the castle hill
Practical information
Duration 1-1.5 hours for the museum, plus the time to climb the panoramic tower; the official site gives a minimum of one hour
Price 14 euros, reduced 12, 6 euros for ages 6-18, free under 6
Suitable for everyone, children included, who linger longer in the installations you walk into (tents, yurts, dwellings); ramp at the entrance, internal lift and a barrier-free route, except for the two towers
Contacts
Where it is
Brunico · Trentino-Alto Adige
You set off from
Notes
- Open from 7 December to 25 April and from the second Sunday in May to the first Sunday in November, 10:00-18:00, last admission 17:00; closed on Tuesdays and on 24 and 25 December
- Tickets: 14 euros, 12 for students up to 28, over 65s, people with disabilities and groups of fifteen, 6 euros for ages 6 to 18 and for school classes, 32 euros the family ticket with two adults and children under 14, 18 with a single adult, free under 6
- MMM Tour-Ticket, valid for all six Messner museums: 55 euros, reduced 45, 25 for ages 6 to 18, 125 for a family with two adults
- From the motorhome area to the castle is a 15-20 minute walk, and the path up the hill takes another 10-15
- You cannot go in with bulky trekking rucksacks or walking sticks
- A warm jacket and a camera: it is chilly inside, and the view opens up from the tower
- The MMM Ripa is the fifth of the six Messner Mountain Museums in order of opening
- The castle was built in the thirteenth century by Bruno von Kirchberg, bishop of Bressanone, and remained the summer residence of the prince-bishops, who left their coats of arms on the walls
- The last section, in the tower, is about alpine tourism: historic photographs of climbers and porters, then lifts and pistes
