Santa Maria Maggiore
Santa Maria Maggiore is a municipality in Valle Vigezzo, in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. It is home to the Regional Museum of Vigezzo Valley Emigration in the World and to the Chimney Sweep Museum (Museo dello Spazzacamino), and is the centre where the International Chimney Sweeps' Gathering (Raduno Internazionale dello Spazzacamino) is held every year, an event that draws delegates from several European countries [1].
The Gathering and the Chimney Sweep Museum
The gathering brings together more than a thousand participants each year, the so-called "black men" (uomini neri), from various countries, in memory of the migratory tradition of the Vigezzo Valley chimney sweeps, who for centuries left the valley to work in this trade across Europe [1]. The Associazione Nazionale Spazzacamini (National Chimney Sweeps Association), chaired by Livio Milani, organises the event together with the Chimney Sweep Museum, based in the town. The mayor of Santa Maria Maggiore is also chair of the Regional Museum of Vigezzo Valley Emigration in the World [1].
The death of Anita Hofer
On 7 November 2026 Anita Hofer, 86, of German origin, died in Santa Maria Maggiore; for many years she was deputy chair of the Associazione Nazionale Spazzacamini and coordinator of the Chimney Sweep Museum [1]. Hofer had started out as an interpreter, acting as a linguistic and cultural link between the association and delegates from Central and Northern Europe taking part in the gathering, before becoming one of the central organisational figures of the event [1]. Mayor Claudio Cottini expressed the local community's condolences, highlighting the bond Hofer had built with thousands of chimney sweeps who came from all over the world to take part in the gathering [1].
Chronology
- — Anita Hofer, the long-standing organisational driving force behind the town's Chimney Sweeps' Gathering, dies in Santa Maria Maggiore, in Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. → Quotidiano Piemontese
Sources
- Quotidiano Piemontese — 7 November 2026