On Saturday, May 17 at 5:00 PM, in the ground floor hall of Palazzo Doglioni in Borgo Piave, the Museum of the River Port and the Raft Men of Borgo Piave will be inaugurated. This permanent exhibition features objects, original tools, images of documents, posters, and photographs that tell the story of when Borgo Piave was the river port of the City of Belluno and a main stop between the Dolomites and Venice.

The museum space will be precisely in the hall where the raft men of Borgo Piave exchanged goods, opinions, shared issues, but also taught new generations the noble and difficult art of “navigating the Piave.” It is right here that the model of raft that Bepi “Gal” Marchetti made to educate the raft men of the village has returned, and which he later donated to the Civic Museum of Belluno at the beginning of the century.

Additionally, in this contained space, it will be possible to see other tools from the profession of the Marchetti family, “Raft Men of the Suburb of San Nicolò della Piave” since at least 1663, such as the anger, the zapin, the sogàt, the outfit with the typical wide-brimmed hat used to deflect rain off the shoulders during raft journeys, and also the hammers with which the Collarin sawmills, later Bellunesi, which had their headquarters right in Borgo Piave along the river, stamped their trees in the woods, but also photographs showing the village with rafts, the historical reenactment of 1951, which started right from the sawmills of the village, and other identity elements of Borgo Piave such as the typical planes for joinery and furniture by Gregorio Gamba “Marangon di Piave.” Other tools come from the collection of Fioretto Bortot and Ivano Caviola, whom we thank for their donations.

“The epic of the raft men has been rediscovered, known, and narrated for a few years now, but in Belluno, due partly to the Vajont and the flood of ’66, the history had somewhat faded because the river-related community of the village was forced to move to other areas of the city, less exposed to floods and inundations, effectively disbanding the group of people who could carry this story forward directly on-site.

Through research and deepening our understanding over the years, we have managed to piece together the story thanks to the availability of the direct descendants of those who lived and worked at the port of Belluno, such as the Marchetti family, the Collarin, and the Sommavilla-Vigna lineage. Now we are almost ready to add the story of the Raft Men of Borgo Piave to the narrative of the Dolomite Masks.”

The date of the inauguration was chosen because it corresponds to the European Night of Museums, making it very suitable for the opening of a new museum space. Furthermore, on Sunday, May 18, the same weekend, the International Museum Day also occurs, this year themed “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Evolving Communities,” which also fits well with Borgo Piave, where storytelling by community volunteers is the distinctive element of the Secco Museum, opened in October 2023.

Due to space constraints, reservations are appreciated at segreteria@borgopiaveetc.it

Those who wish can leave a contribution useful for the association’s activities and the setup of the room.

On the ground floor of Palazzo Doglioni, the Museum of the River Port and the Loggers of Borgo Piave opens with a permanent exhibition of original objects and photos of the trades that characterized the port of Belluno.