Welcome to the MusLa, two museums with a focus on Ladin culture, art, history and nature.
Journey back to a time when prehistoric cave bears walked the earth, explore the Ladin culture in the Dolomites and discover the unique flair for arts and crafts of a special community of mountain farmers. Exciting adventures and fascinating experiences await! The MusLa promises a fun day out for children, families and anyone with a keen interest in nature, culture and history.
The two sites
Museum Ladin Ciastel de Tor
The Museum Ladin Ciastel de Tor explores significant aspects from the past and present lives of the Ladin people living in the Dolomite valleys, spotlighting the major impact of cross-regional events on the community and identifying the correlations between landscapes and lifestyles.
Museum Ladin Ursus ladinicus
The Museum Ladin Ursus ladinicus focuses on prehistoric cave bears and explores the geology of the Dolomites. Visitors can explore three floors and learn all about the history and habitat of the cave bears that walked the earth over 50,000 years ago.
- 15/06/2024
- – 03/11/2024
- Museum Ladin Ciastel de Tor
The new special exhibition at the Museum Ladin offers a fascinating insight into the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history and draws parallels to today’s climate crisis.
- 04/05/2024
- – 30/09/2024
- Museum Ladin Ciastel de Tor
ert tla tor 2024
- 01/05/2024
- – 26/05/2024
- Museum Ladin Ciastel de Tor
Book exhibition for children, teenagers and adults
Ladin history and culture
Museum Ladin Ciastel de Tor, San Martin de Tor
The exhibitions at the Museum Ladin explore significant aspects from the past and present lives of the Ladin people living in the Dolomite valleys.
Ursus ladinicus
Museum Ladin Ursus ladinicus, San Ćiascian
Visitors can explore three floors and learn all about the history and habitat of the cave bears that walked the earth over 50,000 years ago.
Part of the South Tyrol Provincial Museums, the MusLa is home to a valuable collection relating to the culture and natural history of the region. The museum focuses on the area known as ‘Ladinia’, which covers the five valleys of the Dolomites where the Ladin language is spoken.
The museum is spread across two sites, with different themes in the spotlight at each. The cultural history, language, art and life of the Ladin community all the way up to the modern day is brought to life within the mighty walls of Ciastel de Tor castle in St. Martin in Thurn/San Martino in Badia. Meanwhile, the museum in St. Kassian/San Cassiano explores the geology and palaeontology of the Ladin Dolomites. The main exhibition is all about the prehistoric Ladin cave bear known as Ursus ladinicus.
Ladin
Ladin is a historical minority language that evolved from popular Latin after the Alpine areas became part of the Roman Empire. It is safe to assume that Ladin would have been spoken in the area from Trieste to the Gotthard Pass at that time, with different variants of the language being used in these regions.
The origin of Ladin can be traced back to the local population picking up colloquial Latin from Roman officials, soldiers and traders when the Romans conquered the Alpine region in the year 15 BC. Beyond the odd word, there is no trace of the Rhaetian language that would have been spoken in pre-Roman times. Once people started migrating in the 6th century, the Rhaeto-Romance regions were Germanised over time.
Ladin has survived with almost 33,000 speakers in the five valleys of the Dolomites around the Sella group – Val Gardena, Val Badia (Bolzano/South Tyrol province), Val di Fassa (Trentino province), Livinallongo and Ampezzo (Belluno province). From an administrative point of view, these valleys span two Italian regions and three provinces. A different variant of Ladin is spoken in each valley and there are sub-variants in some cases. While the vitality of the language differs from one valley to the next, Ladin is used regularly in all five of them.
- 16/07
- 14:00–18:00
- 23/07
- 14:00–18:00
- 24/07
- 17:00–18:30
- 25/07
- 17:00–19:00
- 25/07
- 15:00–17:00
Interested in finding out more?
Find out more about the Museum Ladin, explore the museum’s collection and meet the MusLa team.
Education and learning
There are exciting learning opportunities on offer at the MusLa for people of all ages. Creative workshops featuring craft activities on topics relating to the museum’s collection aim to inspire children and spark an interest in Ladin culture.
We love getting our hands dirty! Creative workshops featuring craft activities aim to inspire children and spark an interest in Ladin culture. We want to offer our visitors an experience that goes beyond just looking and listening. We want you to be part of the action! That’s why we also offer guided tours of the museum that bring the fascinating history of the Ladin community to life for visitors in a creative way.
News and press
The largest mass extinction in the history of the earth and the parallels to today’s climate crisis are the subject of a new exhibition at the Museum Ladin Ciastel de Tor. The exhibition will be presented on the 14th June.
Excerpts from works of world literature, travelogues, letters and diaries about travellers’ impressions of the Dolomites are collected in Ingrid Runggaldier’s book, which will be presented at the Museum Ladin Ursus ladinicus in San Cassiano on 23 May.
“TOR” by Lois Anvidalfarei is a permanent installation that forms part of the building complex of the Museum Ladin Ciastel de Tor.