[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bunker.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter a study to map its sprawling network of rooms commenced in 2022, a nuclear bunker in northern Italy will transform into a Cold War museum scheduled to open in part next year.<\/p>\n
\n\tAs reported in The Art Newspaper<\/em>, the bunker\u2014built between 1960 and 1966 in the town of Affi near Verona\u2014was \u201cengineered to withstand nuclear, chemical and biological attacks and was equipped with filtration systems, protected shower areas, kitchens, water tanks and dormitories. It was designed to sustain 300 personnel for 30 days in the event of a nuclear emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe site, measuring close to 140,000 square feet, includes some 100 rooms connected by a network of tunnels more than a half-mile long. \u201cAs well as the war room and communications centres, the site contains a gym, a bar and mechanics\u2019 workshops, where walls are still plastered with erotic posters left behind by military staff,\u201d according to TAN<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tThe bunker was a central command site for NATO military operations in Europe and hosted exercises until 2004. Italy\u2019s defense ministry transferred ownership to the town of Affi in 2018, and in 2022 the University of Florence endeavored on a study to map the bunker\u2019s expansive reach. Michelangelo Pivetta, an architecture professor who led the project, said of the planned museum, \u201cIt is an opportunity to start speaking again about the Cold War\u2014which is not spoken about enough today\u2014in a historical sense.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMembers of Italy\u2019s parliament approved legislation allocating \u20ac7 million (around $8.1 million) to the building of the by 2029, and part of it could open to visitors as early as next year.<\/p>\n \n\tMarco Sega, the mayor of Affi, called the development a historic moment. \u201cWe now have a great responsibility: to make the best use of these resources and reopen the NATO base as soon as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/news\/nuclear-bunker-italy-museum-1234794544\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bunker.jpg?w=1024″] After a study to map its sprawling network of rooms commenced in 2022, a nuclear bunker in northern Italy will transform into a Cold War museum scheduled to open in part next year. As reported in The Art Newspaper, the bunker\u2014built between 1960 and 1966 in the town of Affi near Verona\u2014was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-2083342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2083342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2083342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2083342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2083342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2083342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2083342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}