MAVI - Museo Antropologico Visivo

The “MAVI” - Museo Antropologico Visivo Irpino (Museum of Visual Anthropology of Irpino) is situated in Via Tribuni, in the historic centre of the town.

The exhibition has been housed in a 19th-century building, the former municipal prison. It was restored and altered after the earthquake of 23 November 1980. Currently, MAVI is home to the collection of photographs taken in Lacedonia in 1957 by the well-known American anthropologist Frank Cancian. The photographs have been published in a book entitled “Lacedonia, un paese italiano, 1957” (Lacedonia, an Italian town, 1957). 

The Museum houses a real legacy for the local community. No fewer than 1,801 photographs, taken between January and July 1957 by Mr. Cancian, who was still a young student at that time, have captured this rural community in a series of images from daily life: religious festivals, social events and much more.

As one of Irpinia’s principal museums, MAVI organises various events each year, including the “1801 Passages” project, which is attended by many authors who are asked to draw inspiration from one of the 1,801 pictures donated to the Museum by the American photographer.