Ladin Mugums and Stuas

Left: B&B Garni Delta dining room, stube-like. Right: Recreated stube in the Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum in Innsbruck.


In the Val Badia (or Alta Badia / South Tyrol) the “stua” (or “stube” in German) in a Ladin house is a sort of living room built of wood, with a low ceiling, and where you find a large stove called a “mugum” in traditional Ladin house. The stove usually has a barrel roof and concave tiles for better heat distribution. Sometimes the stove is made of ceramic and can look quite elegant. In traditional Ladin houses the mugum is sort of the barrel-shaped object half sunk into an internal wall of the house. In modern houses the shapes can vary. Often there is a bench around the mugum and sometimes a bed on top. Besides the cooking stove in the kitchen this was the only heating source in older Laden homes.

One of the pictures shown is a recreated stube in the Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum in Innsbruck. It shows a white and green tiled mugum in the corner of the room with benches around it. The second picture is from the B&B Garni Delta’s dining room. We stayed at this B&B during our time in Val Badia. This example is a more modern take on the mugum.