Beneath the fountain in Piazza Grandi, at the end of Corso XXII Marzo, lies a labyrinth of 25 reinforced concrete rooms where up to 450 Milanese could take shelter during the war. On the walls, you can still read the signs for restrooms and the prohibitions of the time: no smoking, no pets allowed.
The entrance disguised as a fountain: why the bunker was nearly invisible
The shelter was built by the City of Milan and is one of the city’s first public shelters. Its location is no accident: the fountain on the surface helped camouflage the entrance, which was almost impossible to spot from the square.
Inside, there are about 250 square meters of interconnected rooms, which the City considers to be among the best-preserved air-raid shelters in Milan.
During the restoration, new lighting fixtures were installed along the original layout and turn on only when visitors pass by.
No smoking, no pets: the rules are still painted on the walls
The instructions painted on the walls of Air Raid Shelter No. 56 were meant to maintain order among hundreds of people confined to a small space.
They explained where to find restrooms, where the drinking water containers were located, and how to behave.
This is where families, the elderly, and neighbors would take shelter when the sirens sounded during the bombings that struck Milan starting in 1940, with the most devastating wave occurring in August 1943.
Each prohibition tells you just how important it was to live together, hour after hour, in just a few square meters.
Over 15,000 shelters in the city, very few open to the public: why No. 56 is an exception
It’s one of Milan’s lesser-known curiosities: the city once had about a hundred public and school shelters, as well as over 15,000 built beneath private homes and buildings.
Today, very few are open to the public. Among Milan’s historic underground sites, the best known is Shelter 87 on Viale Bodio, beneath the Leopardi School.
No. 56, on the other hand, is open only a few Saturdays a year, depending on the fountain’s maintenance schedule.
In May 2019, the shelter opened for Open House on the same day as the construction site for the M4 Linate station: in a single day, you could explore both the past and the future of underground Milan.
Free Tour on November 21: Hours, Reservations, and Directions
If you haven’t visited it yet, the last chance in 2026 will be Saturday, November 21—a date added by the FAI Milan Delegation in collaboration with City District 4 and the local ANPI chapter, following the five previous openings between March and September.
Tours are limited because they must be coordinated with maintenance work on the fountain above.
- When: Saturday, November 21, 2026; tours begin at 1:00 p.m., with the last tour at 5:00 p.m.
- Where: Piazza Giuseppe Grandi, Calvairate/Porta Vittoria area (Municipality 4), with access next to the fountain.
- How to get there: trams 12 and 27, Piazza Grandi stop.
- Price: free.
- Reservations: recommended at faiprenotazioni.fondoambiente.it; walk-ins are welcome until capacity is reached.
- Important to know: There are stairs at both the entrance and exit, so the tour is not accessible to people with mobility impairments or to strollers. It is not recommended for those who suffer from claustrophobia, and pets are not allowed. In case of inclement weather, the tour will be postponed.
If you’ve always wondered what lies beneath the city of Milan, this is one of the few bunkers in Milan where you can truly find out.
