The Borsalino Museum, which has just opened in Alessandria with a café and a gift shop, is in the historic Palazzo Borsalino in the Piedmont town.
Enhancing Alessandria’s unique cultural heritage
Inaugurated on 4 April – the 166th anniversary of the Foundation - the new museum is a collaboration between the city of Alessandria and the Borsalino Foundation, and commemorates and pinnacle of Italian excellence in the production of hats. Redeveloped while preserving the identity and spirit of the building, the museum spreads over a total of 620 sqm of exhibition areas, and includes a café and a gift shop. The mission of the Borsalino Museum is to enhance the profound historical and cultural heritage of Alessandria, adding to the region’s many tourist attractions.
Hat production techniques and artisan secrets
The museum is a dynamic and innovative space that invites visitors to discover the culture of Italian hat making. The itinerary - from 1857 to the present day - is an emotional journey that starts from Antica Casa, a multimedia installation that traces the main stages in the history of the hat manufacture. Manifattura is the area dedicated to the hat production processes and techniques as well as to the many secrets of Alessandria’s artisans.
Legendary Borsalino hats that captured the Big Screen
Galleria features a display of more than two thousand hats, organized into eight fascinating narrative itineraries for an experience like no other in the world: Twenty Hats that Changed the World; Travel with Borsalino; Legendary Panama Hats; Borsalino and Women; Hats that Captured the Big Screen; Divine Hats; Borsalino for…, and Borsalino & Other Stories. The museum itinerary is completed and highlighted by themed video installations. Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays from 10.00 to 19.00.
