Rovereto War Museum turns 100: renovated itinerary and many initiatives

The Italian Historical Museum of War in Rovereto turns 100 years old: on October 12, 1921, in the presence of the King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele, the first nucleus of the museum was in fact inaugurated inside the Rovereto Castle. And to celebrate the centenary, the museum branch is offering a rich program of initiatives throughout 2021 with exhibitions, conferences, meetings and publications. The events are aimed at researchers and history enthusiasts, as well as tourists and the curious, projecting the museum and the city into a national and international dimension. The initiatives are also accompanied by the rearrangement of the permanent tour route related to World War I, the opening of new visitor service areas, the creation of the new website and a digital photo archive, with also the introduction of new visitor tools for the public.

Guided tours and family activities are scheduled weekly throughout the spring and summer. Two temporary exhibitions can be visited until October: the photographic exhibition Libya, a 20-year war. Shots by Gino Voltolina (1918-1919), which enhances an important collection preserved in the Museum’s archives, and the installation Above. The military supply system between the Zugna and the Highlands dedicated to the theme from military logistics.

Rovereto Castle. Photo by Graziano Galvagni

The Castle of Rovereto. Photo by Graziano Galvagni

The Castle of Rovereto. Photo by Graziano Galvagni

The centenary initiatives will culminate in October, when a photographic exhibition will be inaugurated that will reconstruct the narrative and representational modes of the conflict in monuments, museum displays, rhetoric, and public discourse starting after the war. A volume will then be published that, thanks to rich archival documentation, will document the great ferment of initiatives promoted by public and private authorities in the postwar period, tracing the history of the museum. A large catalog of the uniforms of the Royal Italian Army that belong to the museum’s collections will also see publication by the end of the year.

Also in the fall, an international conference dedicated to Great War museums in the Alps is planned: an opportunity to reflect on the experiences of Great War history museums and the activities of cultural associations working in the field of historical landscape enhancement in Austria, Italy and Slovenia.

The War Museum in Rovereto is one of Italy’s leading historical museums , and despite its century of existence, its tour is strongly relevant today: it is certainly dedicated to World War I, but it is not a museum aimed only at enthusiasts and, above all, it has not remained stationary a hundred years ago; in the space of a century it has in fact completely changed its appearance (and is still evolving) and attracts thousands of visitors every year who are impressed and surprised by the richness and variety of its collections.

The tour is divided into two levels, the armies and wars between the 19th century and World War I on one side and the castle and weapons of the modern age on the other.

The Rovereto War History Museum. Photo by Graziano Galvagni

The Rovereto War History Museum. Photo by Graziano Galvagni

The Rovereto War History Museum. Photo by Graziano Galvagni

The Rovereto War History Museum. Photo by Graziano Galvagni

The Rovereto War History Museum. Photo by Graziano Galvagni

The tour in the museum focuses on theevolution in the way of fighting and the endowments of soldiers from the early 19th century to World War I. Displayed in the showcases are objects and photographs, evidence of trench warfare and accounts of the experience of soldiers, refugees and prisoners. Alongside the important collections of uniforms and weapons, there are the objects of daily life accompanied by texts, images and multimedia content. Personal accounts of the hard life in the trenches are flanked by documents related to public narrative and war propaganda; technological aspects related to the production of military industry are complemented by social and economic aspects disrupted by the conflict. Visitors are then guided up to contemporary times through the exhibition The Soldier’s Skin. Uniforms, armor, helmets and gas masks from World War I to the year 2000.

It continues with a visit to the interior of the Venetian fortress, which required lengthy restoration work and made the castle the protagonist, with its walls, tunnels, and towers housing collections of war and hunting weapons from the modern age. Built in the 15th century by the Castelbarco family, but later rebuilt during the rule of the Serenissima over Rovereto, the castle is nestled in the historic center and dominates over Vallagarina, as can be perceived when climbing the terraces overlooking the city’s rooftops.

In the Marino keep is the collection of weapons from the modern age (16th-18th centuries): a large collection of armor, white and firearms, dueling and hunting weapons; the Malipiero keep, on the other hand, displays weapons and tools from Prehistory to the Middle Ages.

Finally, the air raid shelter excavated during World War II at the foot of the castle displays numerous Italian, Austro-Hungarian, German, and British artillery pieces from World War I, such as bombards, mortars, howitzers, and cannons. This section, among the most extensive thematic exhibits in Italy today, also includes ammunition material, and the 30.5-centimeter Austro-Hungarian Skoda mortar on display in the opposite Podesta Square completes the artillery tour.

New multimedia tools will also soon be available along the tour route to provide a closer look at the soldiers’ wartime experience. The stories will also be available in the museum’s new audio guide complete with insights and trivia.

Rovereto War Museum turns 100: renovated itinerary and many initiatives

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