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The first narrative museum in Italy, the MAR, which stands for Museo Audiovisivo della Resistenza (Audiovisual Museum of Resistance), combined the preservation and development of the memory of the Provinces of Massa Carrara and La Spezia.
The museum visit weaves together stories, images, documents and establishes an encounter between the public and the memory of witnesses. The museum was created in 1994 in Fosdinovo thanks to the efforts of the ANPI in Sarzana and its President Paolino Ranieri who, in agreement with the municipal administration, succeeded in transforming the structure - built in 1948 by some partisans of the 'Ugo Muccini' Garibaldi Brigade together with citizens and volunteers and used until 1971 as a summer camp for boys and girls - into the museum that can still be visited today.
The MAR, dedicated to the memory of partisans Alessandro Brucellaria 'Memo' and Flavio Bertone 'Walter', was officially inaugurated on 3 June 2000 in the presence of Education Minister Tullio de Mauro. On the inside, visitors can interact with panels and multimedia installations designed by Studio Azzurro with the coordination of Giovanni Contini and Paolo Pezzino, real itineraries to bring them closer to the knowledge of historical facts about the War and the Resistance. On entering the museum, there is a huge 'memory table' in the centre of the hall, above which six thematic panels are divided into: farmers, partisans, war on civilians, deportees, women, calendar. The story of the witnesses, through films, documents and places, is activated by touching virtual books. Historical events are carefully reconstructed from 1943 until the Liberation phase and involving the neighbouring provinces of Massa Carrara and La Spezia, places of countless massacres and destruction. Busy with events, meetings open to the public and schoolchildren, the MAR continues to relentlessly address the themes of Resistance by embracing theatrical workshop activities, workshops and cutting-edge IT technologies for educational programmes suitable for every age group, from preschool to university.
Next to the museum structure, which has deliberately remained 'familiar' as if to preserve its origin as a mountain colony, there is the Circolo Culturale Enogastronomico (Enogastronomic and Cultural Association) 'Archivi della Resistenza' where it is possible to enjoy traditional local dishes alongside theatre performances, exhibitions, festivals, book presentations and other cultural initiatives.