The Fossoli Concentration Camp is a symbolic site in the collective memory of the Emilia-Romagna region, a silent witness to history, carrying fundamental values for its community.

The multimedia experience we designed for Fondazione Fossoli places visitors at the heart of the project, envisioning how technology can serve as a powerful medium to convey a historical and civic narrative to a diverse audience, both in terms of sensitivity and age. The primary challenge in the design process was translating a complex and layered history into a contemporary language, preserving its integrity and respecting its memory.

Through a collaboration with the Fondazione Fossoli, two types of experiences were developed: a smartphone application for self-guided visitors to the camp, which serves as both a guide and an informative tool, and an iPad application equipped on tablets, available for school classes during guided tours.

In the smartphone application, the core of the experience lies in the interplay between silence and listening. Silence invites visitors to connect with the environment, a place where history is more of a spiritual presence than an architectural one. On the other hand, listening to the narration and viewing the accompanying images brings visitors closer to the reality of history through factual accounts and personal testimonies.

The visit is structured around key stops, narrated by a guiding voice describing the camp during different historical periods. This structured path is complemented by an emotional journey, featuring traces scattered more organically throughout the camp consisting of audio testimonies from people who lived through the camp's history. Users can locate these traces on the map and listen to them as they continue their visit. While the purpose of the main stops is to inform, the traces aim to connect the visitor emotionally, creating a bridge between past and present. In addition, the visit section is further enriched with additional informational content, allowing users to gain a deeper understanding of the camp's historical context.

The tablet application is designed to support educational visits to the camp, with the goal of supplementing the information provided by the guides. It includes photographic galleries for the various stops and a map featuring the traces: after the guided tour, small groups of students are encouraged to explore the camp, searching for and listening to all testimonies.

The project is still continuously evolving: for the 2021 Festival Filosofia, a special trace path themed around "Freedom" was implemented, pairing historical traces with contemporary testimonies from refugees. This creates a bridge between past and present, inviting visitors to critically reflect on the current relevance of historical lessons.

In 2024, the experience is further enhanced with a new feature in the app, allowing users to explore and imagine the ongoing restoration and expansion project of the Foundation, funded by the PNRR.

The smartphone app is available on both iOS and Android stores.