MuseoCity 2026: engineering on the move
“Engineering on the move: sports venues from the MAIRE Historical Archive” for MILAN MUSEOCITY 2026
For the first time, Fondazione MAIRE – ETS is participating in Milano MuseoCity – an initiative promoted by the Associazione Museocity and the Cpmune di Milano (Municipality of Milan) to promote the city's museum heritage – by exhibiting some of the drawings from the MAIRE Historical Archive to illustrate how sport has shaped places, territories and communities.
The exhibition, the concept
With a targeted selection of drawings from the MAIRE Historical Archive, from 27 February to 5 March at the MAIRE headquarters in the Torri Garibaldi in Milan, visitors will be able to view the exhibition “Ingegneria in movimento: i luoghi dello sport dall’Archivio storico MAIRE” (“Engineering on the move: sports venues from the MAIRE Historical Archive”), created to mark the company's participation in Milano MuseoCity 2026. The theme chosen for this new edition of the initiative is “Cultural Enterprises”, so we have decided to participate by showing the public some of the materials preserved in the MAIRE Historical Archive [formerly the FIAT Engineering, acquired by MAIRE in 2004], which is unique among corporate engineering archives in Italy and worldwide.
The exhibition will be organised thematically and chronologically; each section highlights the dialogue between engineering, architecture and society, showing how sports venues have been – and continue to be – cultural devices as well as functional infrastructures. The public will be invited to view the drawings not only as technical documents, but as narrative tools that recount visions, ambitions and social transformations.
Technical drawings, preliminary sketches, perspectives and period photographs recount the design of venues that have transformed the relationship between people, territory and sport. Engineering emerges as a cultural driving force capable of influencing the landscape, social habits and the collective imagination. The exhibition covers some of the most significant experiences of 20th-century Italy: from the large Alpine hotel complexes, protagonists of the birth of post-war sports tourism, to the stadiums that symbolise urban life; from corporate spaces dedicated to the well-being of workers to iconic structures such as the Palavela, emblem of a design vision that combines technology, aesthetics and public function.
“Engineering On the Move” stages a dialogue between the past and the future. On the one hand, it restores the pioneering spirit of architects and engineers who shaped Italy’s sporting dreams; on the other, it invites us to reflect on the new challenges of the present: sustainability, digitalization, accessibility, augmented reality, new audiences and new ways of experiencing sport. A story of achievements and horizons yet to be imagined, presented in the year in which the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games bring back to the fore the universal value of sport as a space for encounter, innovation and participation.
Our exhibition appointment
- What: MAIRE Foundation – ETS exhibition / “Engineering on the move: sports venues from the MAIRE Historical Archive”
- When: 27 February / 5 March 2026
- Where: MAIRE Group headquarters, Torri Garibaldi, Milan - Via Gaetano del Castillia, 6A Milan 20124 MI
- Format: guided tour
Participation is free of charge, subject to booking via the online form and/or by writing to heritage@fondazionemaire.com. Visitors can enjoy a one-hour guided tour, choosing between Italian and English.
For further information, please contact heritage@fondazionemaire.com.
MILANO MUSEOCITY - THE FORMAT
For the first time in 2026, Fondazione MAIRE – ETS is participating in Milano MuseoCity!
Now in its tenth edition, the initiative was created to promote and enhance museums, archives, corporate museums, house museums and art foundations in Milan and throughout Lombardy. From 6 February to 15 March, businesses, archives and museums in the Lombard capital will open their doors to the public, with a series of events, exhibitions, special openings and activities dedicated to promoting the city's museum heritage; some shops will also be exhibiting works of art. The aim is to turn Milan into a large, unique “ephemeral museum”.
The initiative is promoted by the Comune di Milano (Municipality of Milan) and the Milano MuseoCity ETS Association.
From “showcase events” to “special projects”, don't miss this year's new features on the theme of “Cultural Enterprises”.
DIGITAL ARCHIVE
Our Foundation also oversees the management of the digital vault, an IT platform where some 20,000 drawings, plans, and documents from MAIRE's historical archive have been digitalized. This platform makes it possible to access materials effectively and quickly by cross-referencing descriptive categories, metadata, terminology, chronological information, and tags.
TO SUPPORT US
To contribute to initiatives promoting heritage, restoration projects for drawings in the Historical Archive, and the dissemination of corporate archive culture, you can donate through our ‘Support the MAIRE Historical Archive’ campaign on Rete del Dono.
