Casa Tornini Museo - Centro Cultural, Cultural museum in Caldera, Chile.
Museo Casa Tornini is a residence from the 1800s containing multiple exhibition rooms with regional artifacts and historical collections. The rooms present information about the port city and local history.
The house was built around 1875 for Thomas Smith, manager of the Caldera railway administration, using American oak, Oregon pine and Guayaquil cane. It was later bought by Henry B. Beazley, British consul for Copiapó, Caldera and all of Peru. On 14 October 1907 it passed to Bernardo Tornini Capelli of the Italian Tornini family, served for some years as vice-consular seat of the Kingdom of Italy, and remained a family residence until 2009.
The museum displays how Italian families arrived and settled in Caldera during the late 1800s, showing objects from their daily lives. The exhibits reveal how this community shaped the city's character.
The museum sits in the centre of Caldera, a short walk from the Plaza de Armas and the port area. Visits are arranged with the owners, so contact the house in advance to agree on a time. The antique fair and the cultural activities share the same rooms as the exhibition, so some spaces may be closed during events.
The house was built around 1875 for Thomas Smith, manager of the Caldera railway administration, and later bought by Henry B. Beazley, England's consul for Copiapó, Caldera and all of Peru. Guayaquil cane was used alongside American oak and Oregon pine.
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