After a study to map its sprawling network of rooms commenced in 2022, a nuclear bunker in northern Italy will transform into a Cold War museum scheduled to open in part next year.
As reported in The Art Newspaper, the bunker—built between 1960 and 1966 in the town of Affi near Verona—was “engineered to withstand nuclear, chemical and biological attacks and was equipped with filtration systems, protected shower areas, kitchens, water tanks and dormitories. It was designed to sustain 300 personnel for 30 days in the event of a nuclear emergency.”
The site, measuring close to 140,000 square feet, includes some 100 rooms connected by a network of tunnels more than a half-mile long. “As well as the war room and communications centres, the site contains a gym, a bar and mechanics’ workshops, where walls are still plastered with erotic posters left behind by military staff,” according to TAN.
The bunker was a central command site for NATO military operations in Europe and hosted exercises until 2004. Italy’s defense ministry transferred ownership to the town of Affi in 2018, and in 2022 the University of Florence endeavored on a study to map the bunker’s expansive reach. Michelangelo Pivetta, an architecture professor who led the project, said of the planned museum, “It is an opportunity to start speaking again about the Cold War—which is not spoken about enough today—in a historical sense.”
Members of Italy’s parliament approved legislation allocating €7 million (around $8.1 million) to the building of the by 2029, and part of it could open to visitors as early as next year.
Marco Sega, the mayor of Affi, called the development a historic moment. “We now have a great responsibility: to make the best use of these resources and reopen the NATO base as soon as possible,” he said.
