Museo per la Memoria di Ustica was created in Bologna by the Parisian Christian Boltanski, on behalf of the Associazione dei Parenti delle Vittime della Strage di Ustica (Association of the Victims' Parents), led by Daria Bonfietti.
The permanent installation by Boltanski surrounds the ruins of the DC9 shot down in 1980, June 27, while heading the Airport of Palermo. The plane was brought back to Bologna the following year and now it can be seen in an evocative atmosphere created on purpose by Boltanski. There are 81 blinking lights (like the number of people dead in the disaster) that evoke the rhythm of a breath, 81 black mirrors reflect the image of people walking through the gallery and 81 loud speakers give whispered sentences, universal thoughts, underlining the inescapability of the tragedy. Nine big black boxes gather tens of objects once belonging to the victims, invisible to visitors, but their images are collected methodically in a list: “Lista degli oggetti personali appartenuti ai passeggeri del volo IH 879” (List of the personal objects once belonging to the passengers), thorugh which visitors may be involved in the reconstruction of the truth about the tragedy.

The Museum is supported by:
Comune di Bologna
Regione Emilia-Romagna
Provincia di Bologna
Ministero della Giustizia
Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali
Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna