Ecomuseo Urbano Milano Nord (EUMM)

In 2006, the Trame Metropolitane association proposed the creation of an urban ecomuseum to the city council. The project was implemented in 2007 and recognised in 2009. Following the characteristics of ecomuseology, the aim is to protect and promote the territory by involving the community in mapping, narratives and collective activities. Remembrance is therefore seen as a tool for preserving, interpreting and learning about the landscape, with the use of stories and cultural heritage becoming an opportunity to interpret change and build a shared future.

Among the most notable of the various ongoing projects is the recovery of the Breda bunkers, or more precisely, the air-raid shelters of the 5th Breda Air Force Section. In 2009, EUMM, together with Parco Nord Milano, undertook a journey to enhance this tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and to recover the historical and cultural identity of places, and of an era. This journey, implemented thanks to the contribution of the North Milan Foundation and the Lombardy Region, combines research, in-depth study and dissemination activities. All stages are implemented with the full participation of local residents.

Meetings, visits, art and multimedia installations, performances and narrations, concerts, film screenings and photo exhibitions are organised inside the bunkers. Visitors interact with citizens who experienced the events linked to the Liberation struggle and the Resistance during WWII, the period of the great industrial expansion, and the redevelopment of the North Milan area. They then actively participate in the building of a major collective narrative, giving their analytical and emotional contribution.

Since 2011, the Breda Bunkers have housed a permanent installation which is open to visitors during their monthly 'open weekends'. Since 2018, there have also been thematic tours dedicated to design, music, and autobiography.