"MuGot" Gothic Museum
In the footsteps of history in Mugello
The Centre for Historical Research and Documentation called “Gotica Toscana” was created in 2011 to preserve the memory of the Second World War in Tuscany, with particular attention to the events in September 1944 when the Apennines north of Florence were a focal point. The centre focuses especially on the area between the Futa Pass and the Giogo Pass, one of the places most affected by the violent attacks along the Gothic Line, the last fortified defense line prepared by the German army in Italy.
From January 2019, the permanent installations and temporary thematic exhibitions of the CDRS became the MuGot, Gothic Museum. MuGot provides visitors, scholars and schoolchildren with numerous texts, documents and written and filmed testimonies relating to the period of interest. It also organizes excursions to the battlefield upon request for a detailed explanation of the events and a visit to the original locations.
The installations inside present the result of findings on the ground and the material collected over the years by the members or donated by the local population. These allow interested parties to familiarize themselves with the men, uniforms and materials that were the protagonists of that last, often forgotten, phase of the Italian Campaign.
The mission of the centre and the museum is to give everyone the opportunity to remember the months that preceded the liberation of the country, the precursors to the arrival of democracy and the return of freedom to Italy.
The spectacular nature of the materials on display does not in any way seek to promote the grandeur of modern warfare but rather to bring as many people as possible closer to reflection and awareness, remembering those of distant times, and above all trying to understand them historically. It's the first step in order not to have to relive the tragedies, destruction and despair of the period.
Finally, since 2012, the centre has also been used as a meeting point, assistance and contact point for collectors of historical-military vehicles, hosting the headquarters of the History & Military Vehicles Italia club and the Italian office of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association, which offers support to all Italian members and a welcome to all MVPA members visiting the area.
