On a green slope, behind a traditional fence, the gate opens onto a large yard, with an open-air alley. On either side of the alley, among fruit trees, you will see many fairy-tale characters -carved in wood or stone- that enliven the entire atmosphere, and at the end of the alley a traditional house with wooden porch stands firmly on the ground. It is the house of the famous artisan Nicolae Popa from Târpeşti, transformed into a true ethnographic museum, one of the most beautiful and attractive of its kind from Moldavia. The layout of the yard, between the old house and the more recent one, is that of an open-air museum whose harmony between nature and naive art enchants the visitors. You will be charmed inside the house, too – it is filled like a beehive with rich collections of authentic art, gathered from among the villages around Târpeşti. Nicolae Popa, the creator and legend behind the museum, was widely known as an original craftsman, artist, exceptional collector, and writer. He learned to make head masks as a child, since mask games in Neamţ County are the most complex and most spectacular of New Year’s traditions, and later perfected its skill of sandstone and wood carving, developing his own style of depicting facial features. His works have participated and been awarded in several exhibitions organized both in Romania and abroad.