The unexpected
“You can encounter the unexpected all over the Valposchiavo, not only out in the open countryside but also in the villages and particularly at the center, in the town of Poschiavo itself whose many features no one could possibly be prepared for. It takes no time at all to get used to the Leaning Tower of Pisa: it is a monument and one is prepared for it. But experiencing the unexpected, the strange, unique and even eccentric will never become routine – especially when filled with human activity and life imbued with soul. Every new vista feels as fresh and as new as one’s very first experience. It may be possible to disprove this thesis, but what is involved here is an experience.”
Wolfgang Hildesheimer, 1961
Discovering Wolfgang Hildesheimer
The celebrated German writer and artist Wolfgang Hildesheimer resided with his wife Sylvia in Poschiavo from 1957 until his death in 1991. It was here that he wrote some of his most important works, like the novels “Tynset“ (1965) or “Mozart“ (1977). From the 1980s on, he concentrated on visual art and developed his special collage technique. Discover his environment and view Poschiavo from another standpoint.
Link to Hildesheimer Tour
© Foto Schweizer Buchwerbung und -Information
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Valposchiavo
Despite the persistent legend, Mozart never visited Poschiavo. The statue that shows the young musician with his violin stands in a niche in the façade of the Casa Consule, an elegant nineteenth-century “palazzo“ (town house). Today the Casa Consule harbours an impressive private collection of German Romantic paintings, drawings and sketches collected by the German connaisseur and publisher Ernesto Conrad (1927-2011) who settled here.
Link to Art Museum Casa Console
A Buddha (or Bodhisattva) wearing a Hellenistic cloak
One of the most interesting exhibits in the collection of Indian art housed in the Poschiavo Museum is a Buddha (Bodhisattva) statue dressed in a Hellenistic cloak and dated to the 1st- 5th century AD. How could this be, and what does this sculpture have to do with the Valposchiavo? Visit us and experience the unexpected aspects of the Valposchiavo.
Link to Museo Poschiavino
