The famous Tenda Rossa was restored and, in 1928, gave shelter to Umberto Nobile and the other survivors after the disaster of the Italian airship. From 15 February 2023, it is visible to the public in the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci in Milan.
History of the Red Tent of Nobile
After a long period of restoration started in 2008 and on the occasion of its seventieth anniversary, the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan has made available to its visitors the Tenda Rossa di Nobile.
A real heirloom, the only evidence of the disastrous event that saw the Dirigible Italia crash during the expedition to the North Pole and that hosted all survivors for 48 days in 1928.
At the time it was Nobile who organized the expedition, with the support of the Government and the city of Milan who financed a figure of 3,500,000 lire to organize the initiative.
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The survivors were only twelve, including the organizer Nobile, and after the accident they could bring with them only a tent and a field radio, an essential tool for transmitting distress signals.
To ensure that the tent was clearly visible to rescuers, Nobile assigned the crew the task of painting it red with a substance used in flight to determine the altitude of the vehicle: that is why it became famous as the Red Tent.
The disaster of the Italian airship
The Red Tent was part of the equipment and was intended to accommodate explorers for periods no longer than one or two days, during their scientific experiments at the North Pole.
Instead it was the salvation of the survivors of the disaster caused by a strong storm during the third round over the Arctic (in total, five were predicted): twelve crew members managed to survive thanks to this makeshift shelter while, of the other six, there was no trace left.
The period of stay of the survivors inside the Red Tent counted 48 days at the end of which they were rescued by the Russian ship Krassin.
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The restoration of the Red Tent
The restoration of the Red Tent began in 2008. For being built in 1928, the tent had a good structure: two and a half meters high and square plan, the base was completely waterproof and had been made of silk because, at the time, this was considered the most resistant and flexible fiber.
The structure of the tent was certainly solid, especially considering the materials and technologies available in the early decades of 1900 but was still put to the test by the climatic conditions and the permanence of survivors, longer than the intended period for its use.
Moreover, in the second half of the year of the disaster, it was exhibited at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan and this cost it further damage. The restoration had to take into account all these factors, for this reason its structure was restored thanks to an internal aluminum skeleton made specifically for the purpose.
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The Red Tent at the Museum of Milan
Starting from 15 February 2023, the 70th anniversary of the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, Umberto Nobile’s Tenda Rossa has been on display and is visible to the public in the « Studio Collections » project which contains the most important works preserved in the museum’s deposits.
To visit the museum and admire the famous Red Tent, you can book via the official website.
Copertina: Artibrune