Rifugi Antiaerei di Monopoli

Beneath Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, Monopoli's wartime air-raid shelters preserve a network of galleries built to protect civilians from bombing during the Second World War. Now opened for guided visits and used for contemporary-art exhibitions, they offer a direct encounter with the city's wartime memory.

Why it matters

The Rifugi Antiaerei are Monopoli's principal memorial site, built as a public work of protection under the town's main square. Their later use for exhibitions and Remembrance Day events has turned the galleries into a place where the city continues to interpret the experience of war.

What to notice

The architecture is the main evidence: long underground corridors, low vaults and narrow passages, built for civilians seeking shelter rather than for visitors. Contemporary installations have responded to the galleries' history with suspended voices, breathing clouds and images emerging from darkness. On Remembrance Day openings, the site connects its wartime function with the wider calendar of national memory.

Context and history

The galleries were excavated during the Second World War as civilian protection from air raids. After decades of closure, they returned to public life through organised openings, guided visits and cultural events. A 2023 exhibition on Remembrance Day honoured writer and veteran Kurt Vonnegut. The shelters have also hosted exhibitions in collaboration with the Fondazione Pino Pascali.