In the charming medieval village of Amagno, a hamlet of the municipality of Strozza in Imagna Valley, lies a fascinating testament to the rural ingenuity of the past: the Old Icehouse, a perfectly preserved structure that tells of a time when cold was a precious commodity to be carefully preserved.
Carved out of the basement of the 17th-century “Cà del Maestro,” the icehouse takes the form of a cylindrical chamber with a vaulted roof, accessible through a tunnel that started from one of the building’s rooms. Designed to store ice and snow collected during the winter in the surrounding meadows, this “nevera” was filled by hand, with the help of panniers and helpers who arranged and compacted the snow inside. The added water served to better amalgamate the mass, which over time turned into a compact block of ice.
During the summer months, the ice allowed foodstuffs to be stored at constant temperatures between 5 and 7 degrees Celsius, becoming a valuable “natural freezer” in eras without electricity and refrigeration. The upper conical hatch was sealed with a wooden lid, while internal access was regulated by three successive doors to prevent the dispersion of cold. It was managed by the palace servant, who, with ritual precision, accessed the icehouse only when necessary.
Next to the icehouse now stands the Valdimagnino Ethnographic Museum, which houses tools, utensils and objects of peasant life, documenting ancient crafts such as animal husbandry, silkworm breeding, woodworking and logging. Among the most striking features are a niche with a fireplace and the symbolic figure of “Pierino,” the ghost of the icehouse.
Today “The Icehouse” is not only a historical site, but a place of memory, which allows to rediscover an entire civilization linked to nature, craftsmanship and ingenuity, suspended between history, tradition and legend.