Cristina Cattaneo, a pathologist and professor of forensic medicine at the University of Milan, hopes to see the vessel from the April 18, 2015 shipwreck, in which nearly 1,000 migrants died off the coast of Sicily, showcased in Milan.
The boat, a symbol of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean Sea, was supposed to arrive years ago in Milan to be exhibited but is currently in Augusta, Sicily where a site of memory is set to be set up, following a controversy.
"The boat is now in Augusta, where a memorial garden will be created", said Cattaneo.
"But who goes to Augusta? It is difficult to reach. And I say this with respect", she noted on the sidelines of the inauguration of MUSA, the museum of anthropological science of the university. She stressed that science also gives back dignity to unidentified victims, including those who died at sea.
"It would be seen more, as there are more people who come here. I am not losing hope to have the boat here, my fear is that it will rot, when it must be valorised, because it needs to be restored."
Cattaneo’s calls for restoration come following damages the boat sustained during its exhibition at the 2019 Biennale in Venice.
She believes the natural place for the vessel would be the building of the University of Milan in Via Celoria where the MUSA was inaugurated.
"We would find space here, it would be valorised in Milan", she noted.
Opponents to the move say it should be left in Sicily because it is "the world of hosting", concluded Cattaneo, "but here lies the message of what science can do to give back dignity.
"This would be the perfect place, help us bring it to Milan, we could even do it by cooperating with associations that work in Sicily. Here, schools would see it."
