Ancient egypt just an hour away from the best ski area

Mid-week weariness or an unfavorable weather day can happen, and when that’s the case, what to do? Well, in Cervinia there are countless possibilities, but if you want to see something different here’s the solution…

Cervinia is a top resort in the Alps. A feature that renders it so unique and attractive is its ski area’s extension that goes from circa 1550m from the town of Valtournenche to the almost 3900m at the Little Matterhorn. You can easily understand how this feature is unique and special if you consider the fact that from Cervinia, in a little over an hour by car you can reach the downtown area of a big city like Turin. Very few places can brag about such similar traits, so why not take advantage of them?

Do you wish to take a day off from skiing? Maybe your muscles feel a little fatigued or the weather doesn’t seem pleasing? Good. We propose a visit to the Egyptian Museum of Turin, one of the best museums in the world for the quality and quantity of its artefacts, and for its grand and long history which characterizes it.

The Museo delle Antichità Egizie (Egyptian Museum) sees its first movements in 1630, but in 1724 is when it starts its activitity thanks to Vittorio Amedeo II di Savoia. The museum, as we know it today, started its journey in 1824 by acquiring its first collection, the Drovetti collection. This is placed at the palace of Accademia delle Scienze, also where the museum is located today. In the years following the palace acquired more artefacts which already were, for a while, located in the city, however it started its activity as a museum with the acquisition of many more collections, in the following decades.
This happened thanks to illustrious archeologists whom, with various titles, became a part of the museum’s entourage. Their names are extremely important: Drovetti, Champollion, Barucchi, Orcurti, Fabretti…all the way to a very important period when Ernesto Schiapparelli became director of the museum starting from 1894.
Through many excavation campaigns and intense work, followed by Schiapparelli’s successor, Giulio Farina, the museum continued to collect artefacts until its latest acquisition in1970: the Temple of Ellesija.

Almost three centuries of intense and knowledgeable activity bring the museum to a collection amounting to 30,000 artefacts. Take in consideration, also, that an ordinary visit takes about 4 hours and that the public only sees 3,300 of the artefacts (the rest are deposited in storages and regularly studied), and you can understand the vastity of collections owned by the musuem. Visits are family friendly, and the newly rennovated museum appears accessable without ever boring.
A particular and unusual attention is brought to the museum’s history and “tale” of its excavation and research activity, the museum exposes excavation tools and catalogues of the past archeologists, all of this uniquely blended with ancient Egyptian history. Of great and imperial scenographic impact is the “Kings’ Gallery”, filled with massive statues of great significance.

The museum is pretty simple and easy to get to in via Accademia delle Scienze 6, where you will find the entrance of the museum. Situated in an area that, once finished the visit, can inspire a shopping trip. Near the area there are many “designer shops” starting from plaza San Carlo where you can start your extravagant shopping or you can entertain yourself at one of the many local bars, some are still decorated in “Belle Epoque” style. When the day is over you can return to Valtournenche in no time, and get ready for the ski slope descents and turns for the next day, in the best ski area of the Alps!

For more information: www.museoegizio.org