MWA Museums
Medieval wooden architecture is an incredible source of archetypes for sustainable and resilient solutions, and a timeless lesson in terms of relationship between Man, Nature, and Divine.
Medieval Wooden Architecture Museums
V I S I O N & M I S S I O N
MWA Museums is a private project by White Oak Arkitecture, launched in March 2024, with the aim of developing and funding scientific research, and establishing museums focused on medieval wooden architecture. The museums include full-scale reconstructions of archetypes promoted as fundamental cultural heritage for the universal history of architecture, and extraordinary source for sustainable and resilient architecture, urban regeneration, and academic research and tourism.
I N T E R N A T I O N A L R E F E R E N C E S
MWA Museums is committed to be aligned with the principles and aims of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the United Nations Global Compact. MWA Museums is committed to join the United Nations Gobal Compact.
L O G O
The logo has been inspired by the three royal burial mounds (Kungshögarna) at the Norse site of Gamla Uppsala, in Sweden. The three cusps of the letters M and W represent the three royal mounds. The geometry of the whole logo is based on the number 4, with the name MWA designed as a sequence of four identical triangles.
photo by Wiglaf, Royal Mounds at Gamla Uppsala
Research and Museums
Krunatun
research and museum project _ Corleto Monforte (Italy)
Started in March 2024, the Krunatun project aims at creating a territorial medieval wooden architecture museum with headquarters in the town of Corleto Monforte (Salerno, Italy), in the heart of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano, and Monti Alburni National Park (UNESCO Site since 1998). The museum will celebrate the history and wooden architecture of the Longobard County that had seat in Corleto Monforte, supposing its establishment between years 570-575 as part of the Duchy of Benevento, then passed to the Principality of Salerno around year 850, and ended around year 1075 with the Norman conquest of Southern Italy. The results of the first historical and non-invasive archaeological research, lasted from April to November 2024, have been published on 4 December 2024 in the book Krunatun. Corleto Monforte in the Longobard Early Middle Ages.
24 towns: (lead town and museum site) Corleto Monforte; (9 partner towns as historical and archaeological research sites) Altavilla Silentina, Castel San Lorenzo, Felitto, Laurino, Magliano Vetere, Ottati, Sant'Angelo a Fasanella, Serre, Sicignano degli Alburni; (14 partner towns as historical research sites) Aquara, Bellosguardo, Campora, Castelcivita, Controne, Conza della Campania, Piaggine, Postiglione, Roccagloriosa, Rofrano, Roscigno, Sacco, San Rufo, Valle dell'Angelo
Helfara
research and museum project _ Sant'Angelo a Fasanella (Italy)
Started in March 2025, the Helfara project aims at creating a medieval museum in the town of Sant'Angelo a Fasanella (Salerno, Italy), to celebrate the history and architecture of the Longobard fortified settlement of Helfara, then named Fasanella, from which the actual Sant'Angelo a Fasanella was born, as a strategic military and religious center of the Longobard County with seat at the close Corleto Monforte (see Krunatun project). The first historical and non-invasive archaeological research have been focused on the area of the lost Benedictine abbey of the still existing sanctuary-church Grotta di San Michele Arcangelo, where we have found traces of a supposed runic inscription of a Longobard or Saxon noble's tomb.
The Wooden Church of the Longobard Royal Abbey of Nonantola
research project _ Nonantola (Italy)
Started in October 2025, the first stage of the research was published in the USA in March 2026 (Timber Framing Journal 159).
MWA-FSC Compact
regional partnership _ Italy
On 10 February 2026, the MWA Museums project and the Federazione Speleologica Campana (FSC) have signed the MWA-FSC Compact, for a regional partnership in projects of speleological inspections in natural and artificial caves within the territory of the National Park of Cilento-Diano-Alburni, searching for traces of longobard architecture.
MWA-TFG Compact
international partnership _ Italy-USA
On 1 March 2026, the MWA Museums project and the Timber Framers Guild based in Alstead, New Hampshire, USA, have signed the MWA-TFG Compact for an international cooperation. The TFG has been elected representative of MWA Museums, and executive director of the MWA-TFG museum projects in the United States of America.
Ahto-Thurni | Octo-Turris
research and museum project _ Ottati (Italy)
Started in March 2026, the research aims to write the Longobard history of the town of Ottati (Salerno, Italy), and to establish a museum with full-scale reconstructions. The MWA's hypothesis is that the name Ottati was born in years 850-855 from the Longobard name Ahto-Thurni, meaning eight towers, with the evolution of the settlement from a simple military station in service to the Krunatun County (see Krunatun project), to a fortified settlement with its own castle. The town wall was characterized by eight towers, whose symbolic meaning was fidelity to the County and the Duchy of Benevento, after the fighting years between Benevento and Salerno (839-850) ended with the county passing to Salerno in years 850-851. The military role of the future Ottati was highly strategic for the protection of the county seat, and its fidelity was prized and rewarded.
Dragons on the Roof
Archetypes of Norse Architecture
research project _ Medieval Scandinavia
Started in March 2026, the research aims to identify the functional, architectural, structural, and symbolic archetypes of Norse architecture, as the most iconic wooden architecture of Europe in the Early Middle Ages.
photo credits: Royal Mounds at Gamla Uppsala, Sweden, by Wiglaf; wooden roof by Felix Gherardini