by InTrieste
At the newly renovated Cold War Museum in Chiusaforte, in the far northeast of Italy, an exhibition traces a hundred years of fortified architecture in Friuli Venezia Giulia — from the trenches of World War I to the bunkers of the Cold War.
Titled Il secolo di Cemento Armato (“The Century of Reinforced Concrete”), the show runs through Aug. 24 and explores how military structures in concrete have shaped both the physical landscape and the historical memory of the region. Organized by the cultural association Storigrafica APS with support from the regional government, the exhibition blends photography, archival research and local history.
The opening on July 13 drew a steady flow of visitors, including many cyclists arriving from the nearby Alpe Adria Cycle Route. Many stopped at Chiusaforte’s historic train station before continuing on to the museum, adding to the lively atmosphere of the day.
The event was preceded by a public conference featuring curators Massimo Sgambati and Giancarlo Magris. Particularly well received was a selection of vernacular photographs taken by soldiers during their military service in the region — personal, often unguarded snapshots offering a rare glimpse of a now-vanished way of life.
The exhibition is the result of years of photographic documentation and historical study aimed at preserving what organizers describe as an underappreciated but deeply rooted heritage. “Through this exhibition,” said Andrea D’Aronco, president of Friuli Storia Territorio and curator of the museum, “we rediscover a century of historical events through the shapes of concrete — a material that resists time, carrying the marks of those who built and inhabited it.”
Il secolo di Cemento Armato is open Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (last entries at 12:10 p.m. and 5 p.m.). After closing in Chiusaforte, the show will move to the Great War Museum in Ragogna.
The project is a collaboration among Friuli Storia Territorio, the Friulian Society of Archaeology, the Grigioverde Federation, the Friuli Collinare Historical Group, the Great War Museum of Ragogna and the Musica Libera Association, with the patronage of the municipalities of Chiusaforte and Ragogna. It is part of the “Un Mare di Archeologia” festival, co-organized with the city of Trieste.
Further information is available at storigrafica.it and museoguerrafredda.com.
