821 – Dwelling from Malvaglia/Serravalle Ticino, 1515/1564
The oldest inscription on the house, above the door of the lower storey, bears the date 1515.
As on Stilts
The oldest inscription on the house, above the door of the lower storey, bears the date 1515. This first structure would have looked rather adventurous and antiquated to our eyes: the single-storey house supposedly sat on a masonry foundation and masonry posts two metres (7 feet) high; parlours and chambers were put together in a firm block timber construction as was usual in northern Ticino. On the back, instead of a kitchen enclosed in masonry, there was an open gallery from which the parlour stove was fired.
Upward Expansion
In 1564 an upper storey was added to the building: a second storey in block timber construction was set upon the first. The lower storey was given a full masonry foundation and the high posts strengthened to pillars, lending the house its present appearance. The carpenters carved a wolftooth pattern and a crucifix over the windows. The multiple Christian symbols and the location next to the church suggest that it was the parish house.
VIP Visit
The dwelling was also known in the village of Malvaglia at the foot of the Blenio valley as “Casa San Carlo”. The name derives, so they say, from an overnight visit by cardinal Carlo Borromeo here in 1567. Borromeo was an important figure in the Counter-Reformation which had arisen in the Catholic church. It is certain that he did make a pastoral visit in Malvaglia. When visiting parishes the high shepherd admonished his lambs, inspected the sacral buildings and put things right in general.
What can you see now in Malvaglia where this dwelling used to stand?
Where people and cattle once lived under the same roof, now the wilderness has swept through.
Ballenberg
Swiss Open-Air Museum
Museumsstrasse 100
CH-3858 Hofstetten bei Brienz
Opening hours
10 April to 2 November 2025
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