Museo per la Memoria di Ustica, Bologna

Well off the beaten tourist track, and with peculiar opening hours, the museum can be a tricky to access. For those that do visit however, they will experience a very moving and compelling exhibit. Access is free, but they do request you book in advance if possible. The exhibit is housed in the old tramway buildings adjacent to a pleasant park. It looks very nondescript and unremarkable from the outside, which almost amplifies the emotional impact once you enter. Once you slip through the door, the sight of the carcass of the plane , and the violence visited on it, your breath is taken away. After that shock subsides, the next thing you notice is how insubstantial it looks, a sorry mess of fragments clinging to a mesh frame. Then you recall that it contained 81 poor souls, and the sombre , sepulchral mood takes over. They are also recalled using 81 lights suspended from the ceiling, that dim almost to the point of extinguishing, before bursting back to life. That simple effect and the urgent, insistent, whispers of recorded speech from the dark mirrors placed on the walls, movingly recalls the victims. There is also a short video describing the creation of the museum and the artistic vision underpinning it. That also recalls the family and friends left behind, and their trojan efforts to uncover the truth about the loss of their loved ones and their efforts to keep their memory alive. With this wonderfully moving tribute they have certainly succeeded.

Very simple exhibition for the man-made disaster 40 years ago. The information brochure is helpful to understand what’s going on. It’s free but reservation required.