Museum of Pianosan History

The Museum of Pianosan History was born from the passionate work of the Association for the Protection of the Island of Pianosa, founded in 1995 by a group of Pianosans who refused to let their island lose every trace of its past.

Pianosa had been rapidly depopulating for years — practically uninhabited since 1998 — and with it risked disappearing the faces, stories, family photographs and memories of generations who had lived on a rocky island that the outside world knew almost exclusively as a prison. To fight this oblivion, in August 1996 the first photographic exhibition Pianosa com’era (Pianosa as it was) was set up in Porto Azzurro: a collective effort in which everyone contributed images, rummaging through drawers and family albums. It was an extraordinary success — not just in terms of visitors, but as a community event.

Over the following years, further temporary exhibitions followed, until in 1999 the images arrived on the island itself for the very first time. Since then the work has never stopped: today the Association counts over 700 members, of whom native Pianosans are now a minority — a testament to how the founders’ enthusiasm has been embraced by people of every background.

Since then, the Association has produced a wealth of publications, articles in national periodicals and appearances on national television.

In 2019 the exhibition was completely renewed: new images, interactive digital panels displaying old footage and previously unseen photographic archives. Revenue from the sale of books and merchandise has also funded concrete restoration work on the island’s heritage: the restoration of the chapels in the civilian cemetery, the fresco in the detainees’ cemetery chapel, and the clock tower.

The Exhibition

The 150 images in various formats are distributed across five rooms:

The first and second rooms welcome visitors with maps — from the oldest historical charts to a giant-format aerial photograph — and with a timeline tracing the entire history of the island, from the earliest human presence to the present day.

The third and fourth rooms (the video room) gather images of the village, its inhabitants and the most important events. Here a film plays in which elderly Pianosans recount their lives and memories on the island: voices that would otherwise have been lost forever.

The fifth room is dedicated to the prison: images of the buildings, the lives of prison officers and inmates, with a timelinefollowing the penal history of the island from the founding of the Agricultural Colony to the maximum-security regime known as 41-BIS.

The 5 monitors, tablet and 27″ touch-screen multimedia totem supplement the images with constantly updated digital content. The 5 display tables with vintage books and magazines make every visit a genuine journey of discovery.

A Museum Looking to the Future

The Museum of Pianosan History is today a member of the Association of Mediterranean Maritime Museums (AMMM) and participates in major international forums on maritime cultural heritage. Among the most recent innovations, a metaverse installation allows visitors to explore medieval Pianosa in a three-dimensional environment, or to visit the Roman Villa as it appeared in imperial times. Virtual visit experiences of the catacombs, the village and the museum itself are also available — tools to bring culture closer to new generations too.