Landing Museum in Catania
Italy
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The Landing Museum is the main place of memory of the Second World War in Sicily. A rich exhibition itinerary, frequent temporary exhibitions and various cultural initiatives offer an in-depth and detailed knowledge of the landing and the subsequent Allied campaign on the island, within the general framework of the conflict.
The Allied landing in Sicily in July 1943 was a central event in Italian history, prompting those in power and King Victor Emmanuel III to depose Mussolini and overcome fascism. Furtermore, it was a decisive moment for the whole of the Second World War: the first large-scale landing on European soil, it initiated the Allied recovery of the continent.
The Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia - 1943 aims to recount all this with the help of artefacts, documents, photographs and immersive installations. The museum in Catania was inaugurated in December 2002 and occupies a pavilion of approximately 3000 square metres at ‘Le Ciminiere’ Trade Fair and Cultural Centre.
The layout of the museum is by Gasparre Mannoia, the direction is by Salvatore Maltese, and the scientific direction by Ezio Costanzo.
The museum tour opens with a reconstruction of a square in Catania in the 1940s, with a background soundtrack recalling the climate of fascism and war. It then passes into an air-raid shelter, with a simulation of a bombing raid; then through rooms in which panels describe the fighting on Sicilian soil in 1943.
Some showcases display uniforms, weapons, objects and war equipment of the time. Notably, a room is dedicated to ‘Testimonies’, where excerpts of interviews with witnesses of the events are shown. On the second floor are wax statues modelled by the British masters of Madame Tussaud's Museum, depicting Hitler, Churchill and Roosevelt in conversation; and Mussolini with Victor Emmanuel III.
The collections on display have been expanded with donations from private individuals, Italian institutions and the Canadian Army, as well as with loans from cultural and military institutions such as the Military District of Catania, Augusta Fortress, Italian Red Cross, Catania State Archives and the Municipal Historical Archives of Caltagirone and Paterno.
In 2013, on the 70th anniversary of the landings, an exhibition was set up with Sicilian photographs by American war correspondent Phil Stern. In 2017, this became a permanent section of the Museum. In 2023, on the 80th anniversary, a major international conference on the landings was held.
