Gignese is a town of umbrella makers. Their descendants who left Gignese in the 18th century still produce, sell and repair umbrellas all over the world. Children of 7 or 8 years old were sent off to be apprentices with the umbrella makers. It was a hard life and when they returned home at Christmas, if their bosses thought they had worked well, they were given a pair of shoes. The umbrella makers even had their own dialect which had influences from Spanish, French and German and despite being poorly educated, they had an advantage over others in that they could communicate between themselves without being understood by outsiders. The umbrella museum has the same shape as an umbrella and has collections of umbrellas, parasols and walking sticks as well as a section devoted to the life of the umbrella makers.