Bosco delle Querce “Chronicle of a Cloud. The ICMESA Disaster 50 Years Later Through Court Records” Exhibition 

The State Archive of Milan inaugurated the documentary exhibition “Chronicle of a Cloud. The ICMESA Disaster 50 Years Later Through Court Records” at Palazzo del Senato on 16 July 2026, marking the 50thanniversary of the ICMESA disaster of 10 July 1976. 

For the first time, the exhibition makes the investigative and trial records from the first-degree proceedings concerning the disaster accessible to the public. Transferred from the Court of Monza to the State Archive of Milan, the documents have been inventoried and preserved through a project supported by PNRR funds. 

Court files, testimonies and technical reports retrace the accident, the release and management of the toxic dioxin cloud, the emergency measures that followed, and the subsequent investigations and trial. The exhibition also examines the assessment of criminal responsibilities and the wider environmental, social and legislative consequences of the disaster, including its contribution to the development of European industrial safety legislation and the Seveso Directive. 

The exhibition also connects the judicial records with the memory of the territory. The Bosco delle Querce, owned by the Lombardy Region, was created on the area most affected by contamination and is today a place of environmental recovery and public memory. 

Impact and activities: By making previously inaccessible judicial records available to citizens, the project contributes to preserving and communicating the memory of the disaster and to raising awareness of its environmental and social legacy. The programme will also involve local schools through dedicated guided tours, strengthening the educational dimension of the project. 

The exhibition, initially scheduled until 26 August 2026, will remain open until the end of 2026. New dates, available from early September, and booking information will be announced on the website of the State Archive of Milan.