The beidanes of the Waldensian Valleys

The exhibition The beidanes of the Waldensian Valleys. Weapon, tool, symbol. is a fascinating journey through history, function and symbolic value of one of the most emblematic objects of Waldensian culture: the beidana. This instrument, with its sharp and robust shape, has spanned the centuries with a dual identityOn the one hand agricultural implement used daily by farmers and mountain people, on the other hand weapon of defence in the hands of the Waldensians during the persecutions of the 17th century.

Born in the Waldensian Valleys and spread mainly in Val Pellice, the beidan played a fundamental role for almost a century, between the 17th and 18th centuries, gradually becoming symbol of resistance and freedom. At the end of the 19th century, this symbolic transformation was consolidated until it took on an identity function in the collective memory: not by chance, in 1985, it inspired the name of the magazine La Beidana, still published today.

The exhibition, staged at the Waldensian Museum of Torre Pellice, proposes for the first time a comprehensive approach, flanking unpublished historical sources a numerous original specimens of the object, analysed with philological care. The exhibition unfolds like an investigation, offering answers to as yet unresolved questions: where was beidana born? By what name was it known? Who built it? And above all, what cultural and social value has it assumed over time?

A unique opportunity to deepen a little-known page of local history and to understand how a simple object can become symbol of identity and resilience.