Târpești brings together several clearly distinct cultural themes: a house with masks, costumes and naïve sculptures, an open-air exhibition of wood and stone works, and an archaeological site. Casa cu măști represents the history of the house and performance costumes; Curtea cu sculpturi puts the sculpture of Neculai Popa at the centre. For travellers through Ținutul Neamțului, Casa Popa is a tourist destination.
A house with masks and costumes
Casa cu măști is a house built by Vasile and Elena Popa in the second half of the 19th century. The house contains masks and costumes made by Neculai and Elena Popa for performances at Christmas and New Year, as well as naïve sculptures in wood and stone. Different cultural aspects are thus found side by side: the history of the house, costumes for performances, and artistic works in two materials. The connection to Christmas and New Year gives the masks and costumes a specific performance context. Those interested in architecture can focus on the period when the house was built; those more interested in performance culture will find a different perspective in the masks and costumes. The house itself and the objects it contains thus offer different points of interest.
Open-air sculpture
Since the early 1970s, Curtea cu sculpturi has been an open-air exhibition of wood and stone works by the naïve artist Neculai Popa. The works are 1 to 2.5 metres tall. The materials and scale offer two concrete points of comparison: wood alongside stone, and sizes ranging from one to two and a half metres. Access to Curtea cu sculpturi is through a monumental gate carved from oak. About 23 human figures are incorporated into the gate. Material and figurative design are also part of the entrance; the exhibition works themselves include both wood and stone.
Folk theatre as a theme
Neculai Popa’s stone sculptures draw on themes from folk theatre, including Împăratul Irod and Iancu Jianu. The works are therefore about not only the material, stone, but also the subjects they refer to. At Casa cu măști, masks and costumes are for performances at Christmas and New Year; in the stone sculptures, folk theatre themes emerge as motifs. This juxtaposition brings together two facets of performance culture without conflating them: one is encountered through masks and costumes, the other through the themes of the sculptures. Those interested in cultural references can therefore consider the works both in terms of their materials and their motifs.
An archaeological perspective on Târpești
The Târpești–Râpa lui Bodai site adds an archaeological theme to the history of art and architecture. A description submitted to UNESCO on 14 April 2026 assigns the site to the Precucuteni II, Precucuteni III and Cucuteni A phases. Târpești thus brings together different cultural points of interest: a house and performance costumes, open-air sculpture, and archaeological phases. The names of the three phases identify the site’s archaeological context.
Târpești can thus be readily explored according to your cultural interests: Casa cu măști combines the history of the house with performance costumes and naïve art; Curtea cu sculpturi represents open-air sculpture, materials and scale; the site offers an archaeological perspective. Casa Popa is a tourist destination for visitors travelling through Ținutul Neamțului.
Discover more destinations: Piatra Neamţ, Pipirig, Poiana Teiului, Mânastirea Agapia, Târgu Neamţ, Săvinești, Agapia, Văratec
For the broader travel overview: Neamt.
