Milano is memory. Classic Umarell, the Milano of the 30s at the Cineteca Arlecchino. A documentary recounts the city's construction sites from 1933 to 1968.

Milano, March 2, 2024 – How was the Milano from the 30s? And what about the post-World War II period and the economic boom? What was its evolution and transformation? These questions are answered by the documentary Classic Umarell – The heroic construction sites of Milano 1933-1968, made by Cineteca Milano with the patronage of the Municipality as part of the project Milano it is Memory https://www.comune.milano.it/web/milano-memoria, the platform created in 2017 to highlight and remember people, facts and events that testify to the history and identity of the city.

The documentary film tells and highlights how the city changed and modernized in those crucial decades for the country's history, leaving the city dimension to gradually transform into a metropolis. The first of three screenings of the documentary, all at the Cineteca Milano Arlecchino with free entry while places last, will take place on Thursday 7 March at 18.30 pm and will be preceded by a presentation in which the councilor for Urban Regeneration, Giancarlo Tancredi, the President of Municipality 6, Santo Minniti and Matteo Pavesi will participate, director of the Cineteca di Milano.

The other two screenings will take place on Saturday 9 March at 13pm and Sunday 10 March at 11.30am. On this last occasion, the most assiduous "umarells" will be able to participate in a free trip with an accurate description of the works, along the route under construction of the M4, all organized by Municipality 6. The train will leave at 9.30 am in Piazza Tirana next to the railway station San Cristoforo with arrival scheduled for 11/11.15 am near the Cineteca Milano Arlecchino, in time to attend the meeting and the scheduled screening.
The Umarell train is a free one-way service with reservations required: on the website www.iltreninodimilano.com/biglietti or with a phone call/whatsapp message on 3934787706. By booking the ticket for the train you will also be able to see the documentary with a reserved seat. After the show, you must return home independently (tram 14 via Torino/square Cathedral).
Each screening will be followed by a moment of entertainment with a quiz with prizes.

Classic Umarell recounts the birth of some neighborhoods and areas of the city including Lorenteggio, Piazza San Babila and the works for the red line of the metro, as well as the change in the urban landscape of the south of the city and the appearance of the first lanes of the ring road. The protagonists of this story through images - all coming from the Cineteca archive and enriched with scenes from films of the time - are above all the construction sites that characterized the urban fabric in those decades, accompanying the daily life of the Milanese for a long time. Classic Umarell is also the photography of the world of work, an insight into the conditions of workers, bricklayers and carpenters which will certainly arouse interest even when thinking about the recent and dramatic events in Florence. From watching the documentary, what emerges above all is the image of a city wounded by the Second World War that is starting again with momentum. The free screenings will allow all spectators to be able to attend a cinematographic proposal of great historical and human value.

Calendar and program of screenings at the Cineteca Milano Harlequin

Thursday 7 March at 18.30
inauguration
"La Milano what will be – The new construction sites of the city”
Speakers: Giancarlo Tancredi, councilor for Urban Regeneration of the Municipality of Milano; Maria Chiara Virgili, architecture author and podcaster; Santo Minniti, president of Municipality 6; Matteo Pavesi, director of the Cineteca Milano.
Following – Classic Umarell – duration 40′

Saturday 9 March, 13.00
Welcome
“The invention of the Umarell statue – A Milanese brand”
Speaker: Bernardo Gamucci, creative director and CEO of Superstuff, a brand that produces and creates objects that have a story to tell through technologies that belong to industry 4.0.
Following – Classic Umarell – duration 40′

Sunday 10 March, 11.30pm
Arrival of the Umarell train
Encounter. The writer Gianni Biondillo presents his book "What we are not", Bagutta Prize 2024.
Gianni Biondillo tells, in a choral novel, the story of the Milanese architects under Fascism, men and women who became aware of the collapse of false ideologies and who decided to take sides in the name of the Resistance and freedom, often paying the consequences. Following – Classic Umarell – duration 40′

To find out more, look at link to the Municipality of Milano and the link to the Film Library.