Prossima Fermata 900: Brescia racconta sé stessa

Throughout Italy, the 20th century was a time of profound transformation, especially in its cities. Brescia, too, experienced significant development, with its population tripling in size. Thanks to the “Prossima Fermata 900” (“Next Stop 900") project, all of this has been narrated through the voices of its protagonists, highlighting what are known as intangible cultural assets - a collective heritage that the subjects involved in this initiative, funded by the European Regional Development Fund 2024-2020 for approximately half a million euros, represent as a shared legacy to be protected, preserved, and, most importantly, brought to life.

The project involved eight organizations from Brescia, working together with funds from the Lombardy Region. The creation of this partnership allowed for the enhancement of diverse competencies from different fields, such as theater, archiving, publishing, and the planning and promotion of tourist itineraries. Through moments and spaces for sharing, the project partners reconstructed the story of Brescia's 20th-century journey through daily life, work, and politics, engaging citizens and stakeholders - along with their memories - through participatory workshops.

This research has made it possible to uncover fascinating pages of history, particularly for younger generations, as demonstrated by the interest shown by students from the “Leola” team of the “Capirola” High School in Leno, a town in the province of Brescia. In 2021-2022, they monitored the project as part of the “At the School of OpenCohesion” initiative, producing an insightful final report that emphasized Brescia as a fully multi-ethnic city today, where young people, children of immigrants, can discover the history of the place where they live and study.

Tourists can also immerse themselves in Brescia’s 20th century, thanks to low-impact experiential tourism itineraries and a dedicated app that provides texts, images, audio, and video for each location, enhancing the real experience with digital content.

In Brescia, the process of bringing memory to life is contagious: Idra Teatro, one of the partners of the “Next Stop 900” project, has been involved in a new initiative called GOLGI900, in which a Brescia-based school, the Golgi Institute, promotes the cultural enhancement of 20th-century architecture in the Brescia Sud and Brescia Due districts. Piece by piece, the city is recognizing itself.