Documentation Centre in the Victory Monument

"BZ '18-'45. One Monument, One Town, Two Dictatorships" is the title of the permanent exhibition in the basement of the Victory Monument in the Bolzano Centro-Piani district. The museum circuit, opened in 2014, tells the story of the Victory Monument and, intertwined with it, an important part of Bolzano's history. The imposing structure was built between 1926 and 1928, based on a design by Marcello Piacentini, during the Fascist era.

Numerous Italian artists contributed to its creation. Since 2018, copies of the Roman she-wolf and the Venetian lion, which are part of the Victory Monument, have once again been installed on the nearby Talvera Bridge. The restored originals are displayed in the Bolzano Municipal Museum. The exhibition was created through an agreement between the Italian State (owner of the site), the Province of South Tyrol, and the Town of Bolzano. The history of the controversial monument is illuminated in 13 renovated underground rooms.

Simultaneously, Italian Fascism and the period of Nazi occupation from 1918 to 1945 are addressed. All of this is closely linked to the history of Bolzano and South Tyrol, which was ceded from Austria to Italy in 1918 by the Treaty of Saint-Germain. The Fascist-era monumental bas relief by Hans Piffrader at the Piazza Tribunale is also discussed. The exhibition is supplemented by a film about the World Wars, newspaper clippings, posters, and interactive elements.

You'll learn more about the interwar period, Bolzano's urban planning in the 1920s, the Italianization policy, the "catacomb schools", the option from 1939, and the Second World War period, including the Nazi camp in Bolzano. How to get there: The museum is located directly beneath the Victory Monument at the Piazza della Vittoria. There is a car park there (construction of a multi-storey car park is underway), and bus stops on either side of the monument.