The Hat Museum (more precisely “Museum of the Art of Hat-making”) in Ghiffa, overlooking Lake Maggiore, illustrates the history of Italian glamour in hat-making.

What is now the Museum was once the factory where the hats of the historic Panizza brand were made. This internationally famous company exported its hats of a unique style and quality all over the world.

The exhibition is arranged thematically. The first part takes visitors on a chronological tour of hat history, including examples of today’s fashion leaders; you can see the unmistakable top hat of the Romantic period, and the classic hat linked with the name of Rudolph Valentino, which was all the rage in the Twenties.

The second section is devoted to Panizza’s own production, with evergreens such as the Safari hat, or the Texas, famous as a symbol of Western movies.

The exhibition includes the machinery used in making the hats, along with filmed sequences illustrating how hats were made: a skilled craft whose products are nothing short of works of art.