Museo delle Culture, Milano

History

In line with constant efforts on the part of the municipal authorities to preserve the memory of the economic and social processes that have shaped the city’s identity, the Milan City Council took steps in 1990 to buy the old Ansaldo industrial plant at Porta Genova and use it for cultural services. The disused factories, authentic monuments of industrial archaeology, have been converted into studios, workshops and new creative spaces.

In continuity with its original vocation but also in response to the need for recognition and revaluation manifested by the foreign communities that have found opportunities to develop and put down roots in the city, the Milan Council decided to create the Mudec Museum of Cultures in the old Ansaldo area to house and display the municipal collections of ethnographic material.

Mission

The Museum of Cultures of Milan is a center dedicated to the interdisciplinary research on the world cultures. Taking inspirations from the civic ethnographic collections and in partnership with our communities, we intend to create a place where to dialogue on contemporary themes by the medium of visual, performing and sound art, design and costume.
Fundamental aims of the museum are

> the research, the collection and the preservation of non European cultures, in their material and intangible expressions

> the promotion of a public participation in the enhancement of the past, present and future heritage of the museum > the promotion of an active dialogue with all the involved communities: the ones identified with the Forum della Città Mondo, the ones which recognize the heritage of the museum as a fundamental element of their culture identity, the ones which are interested in the museum themes due to their own interest, profession, or just to take inspiration for their creativity.

Governance

The MUDEC presents an innovative form of governance with a partnership between the public and private sectors involving the Milan City Council and 24 ORE Cultura – Gruppo 24 Ore. Developed through a selection procedure of public transparency, this partnership constitutes an important and pioneering structure capable of respecting the identity of the cultural system and meeting the needs of efficiency and sustainability at the same time. The Milan City Council is responsible for the management, preservation and promotion of the cultural assets as well as supervision of the activities of the Forum of Cultures, while 24 ORE Cultura handles the organization of major exhibitions and additional services.

The significant experience thus developed between the profit and non-profit sectors, the first of its kind in Italy, is based on the sharing of know-how. Generating virtuous dynamics of cultural management, it has led in Milan to the birth of a new cultural hub comprising not only the museum and its exhibitions but also a range of facilities including a cafeteria, design store, restaurant and public car park.

Architecture

Born out of a salvage operation of industrial archaeology on the site of the old Ansaldo factory in the Tortona area, the Mudec is a meeting place for cultures and communities. The complex comprises different spaces to offer visitors and the city a whole range of cultural events and facilities spread out over an area of 17,000 square metres. The display area is laid out around a large, covered central plaza on the first floor, which hosts the section of the museum with the works of the permanent collection and the rooms used for major exhibitions as well as the auditorium, a theatre with three hundred seats devoted to performances and the visual arts.

The ground-floor reception area includes a bistro, design store, ticket office, cloakroom, the Forum of Cultures, a conference hall/multifunctional space, educational facility, restoration workshop and repositories open to small groups for guided visits. Mudec Junior is a space specially designed for kids, where children too can come into contact with the world’s different cultures through games, multimedia equipment and manual workshops.

The “A. Raimondi” archaeological mission in Latin America

Milan-born Antonio Raimondi was one of the most prominent scientists of the 19th century. In 1850, he moved to Peru to pursue and cultivate his scientific interests and, from this country, he sent some of the finds gathered through his explorations to the Museum of Natural History in Milan, contributing to the formation of the ethnographic collections conserved at MUDEC.

Besides being a professor of natural history, Raimondi was genuinely interested in all aspects of human life and, during his extensive journeys across the regions of Peru, he studied not only the natural resources of the country but also the manifold facets of the relationship between man and environment alongside archaeology and ethnography. On the wake of this intriguing scholar, one of the purposes of the "Antonio Raimondi" project, carried out under the auspices and with the contribution of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is the diachronic research of the relationship between man and environment in the Andes.

Research began in 1999 in Peru with a geophysical survey in the area of Chacas (province of Asunción, Ancash). Over 120 settlements and burial areas from the period between the 15th century BC and the colonial era (16th century AD) were mapped. Beginning in 2001, anthropologist Sofia Venturoli began her ethnographic research of the region, paving the way to integrated archaeological and ethnographic studies that have distinguished the project.

Later, the team broadened the scope of their research expanding it to the nearby province of Huari, where most of the anthropological work was carried out and where a study on various sites around the lagoon of Puruhuay was begun.

These latter studies (2006-2012 campaigns) also focused on the conservation and qualification of numerous ancient remains from various epochs (from the 3rd century BC to the colonial period) found on the sites that look over the hypnotic Andean lake, still today a catalyst for rituals and pilgrimages by local populations.

During the 2011 and 2012 campaigns, the archaeological team began a new exploration in a different Andean region that boasted great cultural and environmental tradition, namely the north-western districts of Argentina. The research initially focused on the area of Brealito/Luracatao in the province of Salta and was then broadened, from 2013 to 2019, to the district of Tacuil and its monumental defensive hilltop site and the nearby La Hoyada ravine. Numerous pre-Hispanic settlements were spotted in the La Hoyada valley, as well as a side branch of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road system that networked a large part of the South American regions before the Spanish Conquest.

The project enjoys the support of many local institutions (Unión de los Pueblos de la Nación Diaguita-Salta and the Alcaldes of several Peruvian towns, the Town Council of Huari, the IDEH of Huari), as well as national bodies (the Embassy of Italy in Lima and Buenos Aires, the Italian Institute of Culture in Lima, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, the Museum of Anthropology of Salta). Over the years, the project has involved students and scholars from several Italian and Latin American universities.

Visit the mission blog in Spanish
Visit the mission page on the "Italian" website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Milano Città Mondo

The Museum of Cultures aims to be a center in constant dialogue with the international communities present in Milan, capable of intercepting the plurality of the city's cultures and restoring its complexity between scientific research, historical testimony and interpretation of current events. In 2011, the Municipal Administration, with the participation of numerous associations and representatives of international communities, launched a process of confrontation and exchange between different cultures, integral and dynamic parts of contemporary and plural Milan: World Cities.

Networks and Cultural Cooperation Office
Modern and Contemporary Art Polo Area
Culture Directorate - Municipality of Milan
Via Tortona 56
Tel. +39 02.884. / 62366/46692/63633
e-mail: c.reticoopculturale@comune.milano.it

City World is a space dedicated to intercultural dialogue and to the promotion of projects, activities and initiatives aimed at the entire citizenry. City World is located in the "Culture Space Khaled al-Asaad" where, thanks to the active participation of the associations - coordinated by the Networks and Cultural Cooperation Office of the Municipality of Milan - it promotes intercultural activities, exhibitions, conferences, readings, workshops and courses.
Visit the Milano Città Mondo section

The Library

With a patrimony of over 4000 works and bibliographic funds, the Library of the Museum of Cultures represents a point of reference for research in the ethno-anthropological and history of non-European arts in continuous development thanks to bibliographic acquisitions and donations.
The Library of the Museum of Cultures has recently acquired numerous private donations, which have greatly enriched the book heritage. Among these, the most important are: the Aldo Lo Curto donation, consisting of more than 600 elements including books and multimedia material; the Segre donation, of which there are more than 100 works; the Sauro Baldi donation with about 1000 texts, mostly on the civilizations of Latin America; the Ricci donation (through intermediation of the Amici Sala delle Asse Association) with more than 100 books that mainly embraces geographical areas of India, China and Japan.
The museum's book heritage is constantly growing and updated with the most recent international publications.

Library of the Mudec
Address: via Tortona, 56 - 20144 Milan
The entrance to the library is located in the lobby to the right of the ticket office

email: C.BiblioCultureAnsaldo@comune.milano.it

Opening time:
From Monday to Friday from 9.30 to 13.30 by appointment
From Tuesday to Friday from 13.30 to 17.30 free admission

The library is present in the OPAC of the LOMBARDY REGION
Biblioteche Regione Lombardia

Through the advanced search it is possible to select the Library of the Museum of Cultures and search for available volumes.

Services: consultation, reproduction
Reference service (request appointment by email)
In order to guarantee a better service, before going to the office it is recommended to book the volumes by email indicating the title and signature

COVID - 19 EMERGENCY

Due to the current health emergency, access to the library is temporarily permitted on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday only by appointment to be requested by email indicating the required volumes.

To access the consultation, users must be equipped with personal protective equipment (mask).

The Library provides the user with a pair of disposable latex or vinyl gloves, to be worn after sanitizing the hands.

In order to limit the presence of users, during this period it is possible to request by email the scanning and sending of articles or other material within the limits allowed by the legislation in force.