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.

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

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.

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.

Permanent Collection

Discover "Global Milan. The World Seen from Here," Mudec's new Permanent Collection.

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Visible storerooms

Find out how to visit Mudec's collections storerooms.

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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.

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

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

Projects

Find out about Mudec's ongoing projects.

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