Museo per la Memoria di Ustica — Attraction in Bologna

Well off the beaten tourist track, and with peculiar opening hours, the museum can be a tricky to access. For those that do visit however, they will experience a very moving and compelling exhibit. Access is free, but they do request you book in advance if possible. The exhibit is housed in the old tramway buildings adjacent to a pleasant park. It looks very nondescript and unremarkable from the outside, which almost amplifies the emotional impact once you enter.

Once you slip through the door, the sight of the carcass of the plane , and the violence visited on it, your breath is taken away. After that shock subsides, the next thing you notice is how insubstantial it looks, a sorry mess of fragments clinging to a mesh frame. Then you recall that it contained 81 poor souls, and the sombre , sepulchral mood takes over. They are also recalled using 81 lights suspended from the ceiling, that dim almost to the point of extinguishing, before bursting back to life. That simple effect and the urgent, insistent, whispers of recorded speech from the dark mirrors placed on the walls, movingly recalls the victims.

There is also a short video describing the creation of the museum and the artistic vision underpinning it. That also recalls the family and friends left behind, and their trojan efforts to uncover the truth about the loss of their loved ones and their efforts to keep their memory alive. With this wonderfully moving tribute they have...

We were searching for places to visit during our trip to Bologna and ended up in this place. It sounded like a very interesting concept, of savaging a plane wreck from the bottom of the sea and reconstructing it.

But, after seeing the plane, learning about the events that led to its crash and how the memories of the passengers was honored through 81 breathing light bulbs and 81 black mirrors on the walls, with voices coming from behind them, we were simply blown away. They also have a small presentation video, that runs in a loop, for everyone to see how things went after the crash.

It's very sad to think of what happened and how the plane crashed. I think this museum is a eye-watering way of reminding everyone of the past and how everything can end in a...

Fails on every level except the indulgence of conspiracy. An accident “unsolved” only by the determined application of ignorance, no evidence is presented for any of the wild speculation (nor ever has been).

Galling that a potentially vibrant public space is gifted to such toxic and baseless nonsense. It cannot even muster a dignified tribute to those who died, choosing black mirrors and light bulbs over (suggestion!) names or photos of the real victims. A sentimental and finally weird video shows the exploitation of those mourning to excite the credulous, pretty similar to any fifth columnist work.

A crystalised waste of time, public energy, and intellectual capacity. Go see Neptune and eat some...