Twelve thousand concrete bunkers and a line of defence that crosses Europe touching six countries; Belgium, Holland, Germany, UK, Denmark and Norway. A cyclopean infrastructure and the only one of its kind, built during Nazi occupation between 1939 and 1944, the Atlantic wall is today the centre of a study promoted by the Politecnico in Milan, in collaboration with the École d’Architecture at Versailles and the Belgian university of Leuven. Destroy or conserve it? This is the basic question to be addressed.

In an ever broadening Europe, that tends to break down the barriers of the past, the Italian university’ s project goes in another direction: the collective memory and the cultural, aesthetic and architectural values that the Atlantic Wall carries with it deserve to be conserved. In what way? Through the building of a special museum, spread across the territory, with photographs by Guido Guidi, a web site and the organisation of an itinerant exhibition (first stop from October 27 to November 15 at the Politecnico).

Taking stock of the initiatives taken so far is a conference (November 8, also at the Politecnico) where speakers include Manuel de Sola Morales, Franco Farinelli and Rudi Rolf. E.S.
Milano – Italy
The Atlantic Wall Linear Museum
Conferenza: 8.11.2005, h. 10.30 (Politecnico di Milano, Aula Rogers, via Ampère 2)
Mostra: 27.10.2005 – 15.11.2005 (Politecnico di Milano, Spazio patio, via Ampère 2)