Women and the Alpine street vendors

Women, in fact, were not only mothers and daughters waiting for their men that were far away, but were also buyers who influenced the aesthetic taste of society, and sellers themselves in the squares throughout Europe. 

An unprecedented journey between Tesino and Val dei Mocheni, led by scholars Rosanna Cavallini and Claudia Marchesoni.

Already in 2023 with the opening of the exhibition Colorare i santi. Le pie immagini dei Remondini nel Settecento Coloring the Saints | The Pious Images of the Remondini printing house in the Eighteenth Century, the Per Via Museum wanted to give voice to the most curious and yet unknown aspects of the history of hawking and selling prints. There it delved into the dissemination of the devotional images - printed by the Remondinis - in the homes of the more popular strata.

In fact women loved these brightly colored figures sold by the Tesini street vendors. They kept them in their own dowry chests or in antique cabinets in their bedrooms, so that they would have a small personal and portable altar to which they could address prayers at home. Some of these objects are still preserved today, and opening one is like taking a trip back in time, discovering the aesthetic tastes of women of the time. As a matter of fact women influenced the sacred printing of the 18th century, directing its shape and color.

From Tesino then the focus shifts, along the alpine arc, to Val dei Mocheni, where a parallel history takes place, in which women have been, in more recent times, active art of trade by street.