The front pages of the newspapers dedicated to the massacre. The photographs of Piazza della Loggia after the explosion. The handkerchief placed on one of the coffins on the day of the funeral. An etching by Carlo Pescatori, a protest poster against the 1980 sentence, the poster of Joan Baez’s concert in the same year, the graphic reworking of some trial exhibits.
A child’s drawing, a collage on paper by the artist Umberto Mastroianni. About seventy objects chosen from thousands collected and preserved by the House of Memory. «Images and texts that tell of the city’s extraordinary participation in that event», as president Manlio Milani says. The testimony “of an increasingly collective memory to understand the value of dialogue, to say no to opposition and remember the suffering of those who fought for freedom and democracy”.
From today until December 16th, in two rooms on the ground floor of Palazzo Martinengo delle Palle in via S. Martino della Battaglia (home of the Casa della Memoria), the exhibition «We are witnesses, not because we were there but because we have never stopped being there», can be visited. The initiative, promoted by the House in collaboration with the Brescia Musei Foundation (which oversaw the installation), the Municipality and the CTB, is the first step towards the museum dedicated to the Massacre which will open in 2026 in the same premises.
Sections
In the two rooms the objects are displayed on paper boxes; like pieces of memory they emerge from the boxes that housed them. In a third room, the film «Not because we were there» created by the CTB is shown. The exhibition is divided into eight sections, «attributable to eight emotions» explains the director of Brescia Musei, Stefano Karadjov: «Closed due to strike», «Will 1974 be the revolution or the end of the world?», «Feeling united within a story that foresees us all”, “Opening up meant being part of something bigger”, “Everyone brought something”, “We seriously believed in the possibility of changing things”, “Boy, come on down, it’s raining”, “We who desire change history.”
In half a century the House of Memory, underlines Karadjov, «has collected an immense intangible civic heritage. With this exhibition the journey begins to make it become universal heritage.” Since May 28, 1974, Brescia, considers the mayor Laura Castelletti, «has been able to heal its wounds and look to the future».
Museum
The «need to tell how we have lived these 50 years was felt. The massacre, the victims, the memory to be entrusted to young people.” Now, the exhibition and a specific physical location «are the premise for building a permanent museum together», which will be part of the city’s cultural offer curated by Brescia Musei. The project also finds the approval of the Province. «Palazzo Martinengo – states vice president Massimo Tacconi – becomes the place of memory of what Brescia experienced in those years, for the benefit above all of the new generations».
From today until June 30th the exhibition is open from Monday to Sunday (10am-6pm); between July 1st and August 2nd from Monday to Friday (10am-6pm). Entrance is free. Free guided tours and educational workshops are provided. Info and reservations: 030.8174200; cup @bresciamusei.it; www.bresciamusei.com.
