Dall’Artico a Milano

Overview & Synopsis

The Red Tent, which offered shelter to Umberto Nobile and the survivors of the 1928 Arctic expedition following the crash of the airship Italia, acquired a highly symbolic value as soon as it was returned to Italy. Since 1952, the Tent has been kept at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, on deposit from the City of Milan: the fragility of its silk, the long time spent on the pack and the decades of exposure made the restoration work essential, which was completed in 2023. Today the Red Tent is once again accessible to the public, in the Museum's Study Collections. This volume aims to recreate not only the complex restoration process, but also the historical context of Fascist Italy, which through scientific and geographical achievements aimed at asserting a policy of power. The various essays deal with the history of the explorations and the institutions that organised the Arctic expedition, supported by the world of industry and the press, the scientific research programme, the role of the media and the imagery that was conveyed to the general public around the object at the centre of these events: the Red Tent.