Rifugio Digitale: Florence's WWII Bunker Transformed into Digital Art Hub

In Florence's Oltrarno district, the architectural firm Archea Associati has converted a WWII-era air-raid shelter into Rifugio Digitale, a 165-square-meter research center and exhibition space dedicated to digital art and technology. The bunker, a 33-meter tunnel built into the hill supporting Piazzale Michelangelo in 1943, was restored in 2022 and now features 16 screens for interactive exhibitions, performances, and events. The project, led by Laura Andreini, Marco Casamonti, and Giovanni Polazzi, emerged from a public tender and archival research. Since opening with a digital installation by Fabrizio Plessi in April 2022, the space has hosted 20 exhibitions, including cycles like SuperNatural (2023), Homecoming (2023) with photographers Lara Shipley and Paolo Raeli, and DigitalHorizons (2023) for international digital-native artists. The 2024 program opened with Alessandro Messina's digital re-edition of an anti-portrait project curated by Sergio Risaliti. A software upgrade is planned for February 2024, and an online platform archives all past shows via QR codes. The center collaborates with curators such as Paolo Cagnacci, Irene Alison, and Serena Tabacchi, and has partnerships with Estate Fiorentina, Palazzo Strozzi, Museo Novecento, and Manifattura Tabacchi. It also sponsors two scholarships with the University of Genoa for digital art applied to architecture. An association has been formed to seek funding and participate in calls for proposals.