Origins of the place and historical memory
The Rooms of Memory are a museum and educational path inaugurated in 2007, dedicated to the history of Siena in the 20th century, with particular attention to fascism, Resistance, and Liberation.
The museum is located in the former barracks of the National Republican Guard of Siena, known by the Sienese as “the Casermetta”. Between 1943 and 1944 it was the headquarters of the political police of the Italian Social Republic, site of interrogations and torture against arrested anti-fascists, as well as starting point for punitive expeditions against partisans until Liberation.
The museum path The path develops between an educational room and twelve rooms distributed over two floors.
On the first floor, squadrismo and the advent of fascism, the construction of consensus, the repression of dissent, and the racial laws are addressed.
On the second floor, the main episodes of the war and the partisan struggle are narrated, also documented through video testimonies of the protagonists until Liberation.
Each environment is composed of large-format photographs, explanatory panels, videos, and audio recordings that accompany the visitor within the historical narrative.
The Torture Room
One of the most intense spaces of the path is the Torture Room, illuminated only by two beams of light. Here, testimonies of those who were arrested, interrogated, and tortured in the Casermetta are heard, in a highly evocative environment.
Educational activities and educational value
The Rooms of Memory promote activities aimed at schools of all levels, from childhood to high school. The path is designed as a didactic and laboratory space, with in-depth projects, viewing of historical documentaries, meetings, seminars, and thematic paths on Sienese history between 1920 and 1945.
Particular attention is dedicated to the dissemination of the values of the Italian Constitution, born from the experience and principles of anti-fascism.
