Villa Clotilde is the cultural centre of Esino Lario: here are the tourist office, the civic library, the Pietro Pensa Archive and Animagus, an artwork made of sound that surrounds the Museo delle Grigne’s butterfly collection.
Villa Clotilde, at via Montefiori 19 in Esino Lario, belongs to the municipality. It acts as the documentation and information point of the Ecomuseo delle Grigne and gathers under one roof the tourist office, the civic library, a specialist collection of local history, the centre of the Grigna Settentrionale Regional Park and the Pietro Pensa Archive; for a few years it also housed the tapestry school, restarted at Esino.
The Pietro Pensa Archive is a private archive run by the Associazione Amici del Museo delle Grigne: it holds old documents from the fourteenth to the twentieth century, including 182 parchments. It is open for consultation only to scholars by appointment; once a year it opens its doors to the curious and enthusiasts with guided visits.
On the first floor is Animagus, a permanent artwork by Roberto Paci Dalò, presented in 2012: in the half-light, immersed in a forest of sounds, visitors see the butterfly collection and an animal diorama from the Museo delle Grigne. A small room on the second floor is devoted to “The world of butterflies”. In the villa’s garden are the new home of the Museo delle Grigne, the Giovannimaria Pensa playground, some old millstones and a storytelling bench.
On the ground floor you can read and borrow books: the civic library belongs to the network of libraries of the Province of Lecco and in August lending is suspended. The building has a rear entrance for wheelchairs and prams and a lift. Access to Animagus varies through the year and can be checked by calling the municipal offices on 0341 860111.