Documentation Centre in the Victory Monument

"BZ '18 - '45. One monument, one city, two dictatorships." This is the permanent exhibition in the lower floor of the Victory Monument in the heart of Bolzano. In 2014, this Documentation Centre - "Dokumentationszentrum im Siegesdenkmal" in German, "Centro di Documentazione nel Monumento alla Vittoria" in Italian - was opened to tell the story of the Victory Monument, also an important part of the history of Bolzano. The massive building was erected between 1926 and 1928 according to a design by Marcello Piacentini under the fascist regime. Numerous Italian artists contributed. Since November 2018, however, also the copies of the Capitoline Wolf and the Venetian Lion - part of the Victory Monument - can be seen again above the Talvera Bridge. The restored originales are exhibited in the Bolzano Municipal Museum.

The origin of the permanent exhibition is due to an agreement between the Italian State, owner of the place, the region of South Tyrol and the town of Bolzano. The history of the controversial monument is narrated in 13 redeveloped underground spaces. Italian fascism and the period of the National Socialist occupation in the years from 1918 to 1945 are also discussed. Everything is closely linked to the history of Bolzano and South Tyrol, which fell from Austria to Italy in 1918 (Treaty of Saint-Germain). Also the fascist monumental bas-relief by Hans Piffrader at the Piazza del Tribunale (Court Square) is adressed. It depicts Mussolini on a horseback and has been overlayed since 2017 by a citation by Hannah Arendt (1906 - 1975) - "No one has the right to obey" - in the three official languages of South Tyrol: Italian, German and Ladin.

The exhibition is completed by a film giving an insight into the events of the world wars, and various timelines in the form of newspaper excerpts, posters and interactive elements. It is also reported on the inter-war period, urban planning in Bolzano in the 1920s, the Italianization policy, the catacombs schools, the option in 1939 and World War II with the Nazi camp in Bolzano. And how to reach the Documentation Centre? It is housed in the lower floor of the Victory Monument at the Piazza della Vittoria (Victory Square) in the heart of Bolzano. Also a parking space is located there, furthermore two bus stops can be found on the right and left side of the monument.