Istituto Storico e di Cultura dell'Arma del Genio

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Istituto Storico e di Cultura dell'Arma del Genio
Data
place Lungotevere della Vittoria 31, 00195 Rome
Art
Technology museum, history museum
opening 1906
Website

The Istituto Storico e di Cultura dell'Arma del Genio ( German: "History and Cultural Institute of the Geniuses") is an Italian military museum in Rome . It specializes in the pioneer troop, which in Italy still bears the old name " Genietruppe " ( Arma del Genio ).

The pioneer museum is located northwest of the city center at Lungotevere della Vittoria 31 on the Tiber , a few hundred meters south of the Olympic Stadium .

history

The first concrete proposals for a pioneer museum in Rome were made in 1901. Five years later, it was set up by the pioneer officer Mariano Borgatti in Castel Sant'Angelo and then gradually expanded. In 1911 a large part of the Museo Storico del Genio Militare was housed in a neighboring small barracks complex ( Casermette di Urbano VIII ). In 1928 the Istituto di Architettura Militare, which specializes in military architecture, was also established there . In 1933 it was decided to use the facility for other purposes, which is why the Pioneer Museum and the Institute for Military Architecture had to move to the Piave barracks on Viale Angelico at the beginning of 1934 . The museum and the institute were united there on June 28, 1934 under the name Istituto Storico e di Cultura dell'Arma del Genio , which is still valid today . At the same time, it was decided to build a new building on the Tiber for the new facility, which was built between 1936 and 1939 by the project office of the War Ministry under the direction of Gennaro De Matteis at the current location. Due to the Second World War , the interior work was delayed for several years. Since it was founded, the institute has served both as a museum and for the training and further education of soldiers in the pioneer troop. It is currently subordinate to the pioneer school of the Italian army .

Building and exhibition

The front of the building runs along the right bank of the Tiber, where the main entrance is also located. At the rear there is a semicircular building wing with a first inner courtyard. Two further buildings with inner courtyards are attached to the right and left of the semicircular wing. Between the latter there is a chapel-like part of the building with a tower. This area is dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the engineer force.

The museum building has two floors . The Pioneer Museum is located on the ground floor and has around 4400 square meters of exhibition space. The Museum of Military Architecture is located on the upper floor. This ongoing subdivision of the exhibition reflects the historical development of the pioneer troop in many Romanesque and other countries. The pioneers or engineering troops were also responsible for the construction of field fortifications, bridges, roads and field camps, more difficult (planning) tasks such as the fortress war, the fortress construction and the fortifications in general were left to special military engineers who were organized separately.

Another peculiarity is that the engineering troops in Italy and other countries for a long time comprised all technical troops, including the railway troops , the telegraph troops and also the air force . The Italian Air Force , founded in 1923, emerged from the pioneer group. In 1953 the telecommunications force was officially separated from the pioneer group. The exhibition looks at these developments as well as the many relationships between civil and military construction and engineering.

The focus of the exhibition is on the history of the modern Italian pioneer troop . The exhibits include pontoon bridges that were used on the Piave in 1918 and on the Dnepr in 1941 , communication devices by Guglielmo Marconi , and countless other memorabilia from various campaigns and wars. The historical horizon often reaches back to antiquity, in the area of ​​military architecture even to Sardinian nuraghi . One area is dedicated to the many Italian builders and architects who worked abroad.

The museum management, classrooms, a specialist library and an archive are located on the upper floor. The library, which specializes in pioneer and fortress construction, comprises around 24,000 volumes. The archive contains, among other things, 20,000 photographs that document the development of aerial photography , as well as old fortress construction plans and military maps.

The museum is currently closed for renovation work, and the library and archive have limited access.

literature

  • Nicola Bultrini: L'Istituto storico e di cultura dell'arma del genio. Nordpress, Chiari 2008, ISBN 8895774205 .

Web links

Coordinates: 41 ° 55 ′ 26 ″  N , 12 ° 27 ′ 36 ″  E