The Museo Valdese, housed in the Cultural Center at Via Beckwith 3 in Torre Pellicle, forms part of the Fondazione Centro Culturale Valdese, which, in addition to the museum, includes a library and archive, and houses various cultural projects. The main museum recently underwent a thorough modernization and contains a permanent exhibition on Waldensian history and culture as well as space for a varied array of temporary exhibitions and displays. The permanent exhibition includes displays on the history of the movement based on the most recent scholarship, as well as physical objects associated with the history of the movement. This museum can be contacted at il.barba@foundazionevaldese.org.
There is a larger “system of museums” dispersed throughout the valleys, the “Sistema Museal Eco-storico delle Valli Valdesi.” At present this consists of 11 museums and six “places of memory” associated with historical events. Some of the museums are dedicated to smaller communities (Rorà, Prali, Rodoretto, Balsiglia) or to historic schools (Podio, Odin-Bertot, Pramollo.) There is also a museum of women at Il Serre, and of deaconesses at Bovile. The ensemble presents a very thorough and rich set of resources for understanding the Waldensian past.
The Waldensian Research Library also located within the Cultural Center Building at Torre Pellice, is a great resource comprised of the broadest collection of resources in French, Italian, German, and English found in Europe.
Also in the Waldensian Valleys, near Luserna San Giovanni, is Gianavella, the home of Josue Janavel, which can still be visited. Near Bobbio Pellice is the Sibaud Monument, which commemorates the Glorious Return. The College of the Barba is an historic site where for centuries Waldensian pastors were trained to read and write and where they memorized entire books of the Bible. Up the hill from women’s museum at Il Serre is a small one-room Beckwith school called the “Goat University.” Further up the hill is the Monument at Chanforan.
In the Chisone Valley, the Latin School at Pomaretto, built by Dutch Protestants, taught Waldensian boys in preparation for university study abroad. The Latin School Museum houses the Ferrer Collection of 158 miniature models and tableaus, hand carved from wood, depicting work, play and social life in the Valleys.
The Prali Waldensian Museum is located in the only oldest surviving Waldensian church, built in 1556. The Prali Waldensian Museum houses displays on life in the Germanesca Valley and displays the sanctuary of the ancient Prali church as it was for hundreds of years. In Southern Italy, The Waldensian Museum at Guardia Piemontese in Calabria covers the Waldensian history in that region from the founding of the first Waldensian settlements in the 13th century until 1561.
In the Luberon region in southern France, the Museum at Merindol commemorates the numerous Waldensian settlements in the Luberon region some of which date to 1400. The Army of the King of France massacred hundreds in Merindol and the surrounding region during the 1540’s, resulting in a mass exodus of Waldensians to Switzerland, Italy and Germany. This museum can be contacted at vaudoises@gmail.com.
In Schönenberg in Baden-Würtemberg, Germany, is the Waldensian Museum in the Henri Arnaud House. This museum has the largest collection of Waldensian postcards from the last two hundred years and also a small library.
The Walldorf Museum in Walldorf-Morfeldern, Germany, traces the lineage and history of the Waldensian settlers in the region.
The Museo Valdense in Colonia Valdense, Uruguay, traces the history of the settlements in the region.
The Waldensian Heritage Museum in Valdese, North Carolina, houses the largest collection of Waldensian artifacts, history, and archival library in North America. The town of Valdese was established by Waldensian settlers in 1893.