I rifugi antiaerei nascosti sotto Milano potrebbero diventare luoghi per la cultura?
A Milanese association called Repubblica del Design is working to transform abandoned World War II air-raid shelters in the northern suburbs of Milan into cultural and memory spaces. During the 2025 Design Week, the group organized exhibitions in two bunkers—Rifugio 87 under a school and Bunker Breda under Parco Nord—tied to the theme of Resistance, coinciding with Italy's Liberation Day on April 25. The project, named "100 cose da non dimenticare" (100 Things Not to Forget), aims to reactivate these hidden, liminal spaces as "resistant" outposts for culture and civic memory.
This initiative matters because it addresses the acute shortage of affordable space for cultural projects in Milan, where real estate costs are prohibitively high. By repurposing forgotten underground infrastructure, the project offers a model for reclaiming marginal urban areas for creative and community use. It also connects contemporary cultural production with historical memory, using the shelters' wartime past to spark dialogue about resistance, resilience, and the changing identity of Milan's periphery. The project's crowdfunding campaign seeks to make the bunkers year-round cultural venues, potentially inspiring similar adaptive reuse in other cities.