MMM Ripa

The MMM Ripa at Brunico Castle is the fifth of the museum project by Reinhold Messner and is dedicated to the mountain tribes.

After a long period of restoration, in July 2011 the Messner Mountain Museum Ripa, the fifth and last in the circle of the museum project by Reinhold Messner, was inaugurated. Brunico Castle, once the summer residence of the prince-bishops, is today dedicated to the hill tribes from Asia, Africa, South America and Europe. From the Touareg to the Massai, Mongolians, Sherpas, Turkmens, Beduines and the Walser, the exhibition focuses on about 25 mountain people.

Messner spent a total of 10 years of his life with hill tribes. In this experience he learned that the basis, that is to say the respect for nature and religion, are the same with all people, even if there are also great differences.

The tour in the museum starts with an exhibition of different tents and habitations of mountain people. Odours, music and video projections enhance the sensation of being in another world and being on a world cruise. Europe and America as well as religion and partial aspects of life are at the centre stage on the upper floors. Moreover there is a room that is dedicated to the architecture of hill tribes.

Also worth visiting are the princes’ rooms that have been unchanged also in the course of the restoration works. To conclude your tour, we recommend you to walk up the more than 100 steps to the panoramic viewpoint on the donjon. This is where you cannot only enjoy a great view on the city of Brunico, but also the entire valley basin, down to the three-thousanders of the Valle Aurina. Messner above all appreciates the site of the museum, because from here you can see a multitude of mountain farmsteads in the surroundings.

A coffee in the open air café in the inner courtyard of the castle makes your visit complete. To sum up, the MMM Ripa is a very interesting museum for all the family, hosted by a castle that only is also worth a visit.

Opening hours: MMM Ripa is open from the second Sunday of May to November 1, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and from December 26 to April 25, 12 a.m. - 6 p.m. Doors close at 5 p.m., Closed on Tuesdays.
Where: Brunico Castle, Via Castello 2
Peculiarities: events with guests from mountain people from all over the world are organised
Family-friendly: all exhibition rooms (except the tower) are accessible also with pram, by lift
Further information: phone +39 0474 410220, ripa@messner-mountain-museum.it