Temporale
(UNIVERSITY)
POLITECNICO DI MILANO
(COURSE)
COMMUNICATION DESIGN
(CLASS)
FINAL SYNTHESIS LABORATORY
(MAIN AREAS)
MULTIMEDIA DESIGN,
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
(YEAR)
2021
How can we give voice and value to seemingly invisible places whose remains risk losing significance? This reflection gave birth to “Temporale. Docu-album sonoro della Milano antiaerea”. This cross-media project tells the story of bunkers and air-raid shelters in Milan, used by civilians during World War II. The project takes shape through three complementary artefacts: a vinyl record, editorial materials, and a video art accessible online. “Temporale” thus intertwines the history of places, events, and people, relying on a hybrid and experimental system.
The vinyl is the central element of “Temporale”. Its tracklist guides the listener through a sound journey that retraces the experience of a bombing raid: from the sound of the alarm sirens to emerging from the shelters and fleeing the city. The sixteen tracks are divided between short compositions, featuring music and archival sounds, and longer narratives where the voices of witnesses bring to light personal stories that would otherwise remain confined to individual memory or be forgotten.
Alongside the vinyl, the soundtracks are accompanied by a visual online experience. Inspired by video art and experimental documentaries, the videos evoke memories through a mix of archival footage and self-produced recordings in some of Milan’s bunkers.
The project currently features a prototype track titled “LA FINE DEL TOPO”, which captures the drama of experiencing bombings from within the underground shelters.
The audiovisual experience is enriched by printed editorial materials that guide and expand the narrative. “Memorie sotterranee” is a booklet that gathers the lyrics of the soundtracks, guiding the listener through the narrative journey and creating a bond between sounds, words, and images that amplifies immersion in the historical context.
“Resti invisibili,” on the other hand, delves into the history of these places. It focuses on five symbolic air raid shelters: Torre delle Sirene, the shelter at Giacomo Leopardi Elementary School, the Breda bunkers, the cellars on Via Battistotti, and the public shelter in Piazza Grandi. The booklet also includes a photographic reportage documenting the current state of these spaces, most of which are now inaccessible.
The project also includes two maps: one showing the targets hit during the bombings of Milan between 1940 and 1945, and another locating the main air-raid shelters. These maps document historical memory and allow us to reconnect it with the current urban fabric, turning the cityscape into a reservoir of hidden memories.
“Temporale” is a choral system of small personal stories intertwined with the larger History that shaped them. In a world marked by conflict, the project invites us to reflect on the futility of war and the need to remember. Telling the stories of these forgotten places is an act of collective responsibility, where memory becomes an antidote to human violence.