What is MeVe?
- Ale_Iva
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Recently people have the feeling that the world has descended into chaos. Everyone is studying the global political landscape with bated breath, wondering with growing anxiety what will happen. At such a time even a simple day trip turns into an opportunity for study…
By Alessandra Ivaldi / 19.03.2026
I recently had the opportunity to discover a little-known reality of immeasurable value: MeVe. What are we talking about? MeVe is short for the Veneto Memorial of the Great War, a place of reflection on the events that have marked our history from the First World War to the present day. Two elements in particular characterize the Memorial: its noble purpose and its interactive and multimedia nature, which offers visitors an immersive experience beyond the ordinary and a unique opportunity to deepen their knowledge, reflecting on how the scars left by the Great War are at the root of today’s conflicts.
MeVe is located inside Villa Correr Pisani in Montebelluna, in the province of Treviso (Italy). The building, founded in the 17th century, houses precious findings and numerous multimedia spaces within elegant frescoed rooms. Everything is functional for the purpose of pushing the visitor towards authentic reflection.
What is a man when he loses his humanity? And what drives him towards the abyss of inhumanity? And above all, who is the true champion of inhumanity? The soldier who brings death among his enemies and, if lucky, returns home with his soul in pieces, or the politician who, without getting his hands dirty, moves his pawns across the international chessboard to start a huge and senseless conflict?
And speaking of soldiers, after their experience in war many of them suffered indelible wounds both physically and psychologically. Imagining such an experience is impossible for anyone who has been fortunate enough not to experience it personally. However, MeVe tries to give us a taste of such dramatic events.
A small room is separated from the rest of the museum by soundproof walls. Visitors suffering from heart problems, epileptic seizures, or other conditions are not allowed to access it. Everyone else can test their nerves by entering the mysterious room. The door closes behind you and your eyes see nothing but darkness, no matter how hard they try. Until all hell breaks loose.
The room is designed to simulate the sensations experienced by soldiers inside a trench. Suddenly the enemy attack breaks out and a shower of bombs pours down on the men locked in the trenches. Your eyes are hurt by violent bursts of light, but the worst feeling has to do with your hearing. The explosions are terrible and incessant. It feels like you don’t own a pair of ears anymore and that inexorable din explodes directly inside your head, shattering your brain.
Although it lasts only a few minutes, the experience leaves the visitor deeply shaken, which makes it much easier to understand the meaning of shell shock, a topic covered in depth within the museum. Also referred to as “war neurosis”, it represents a post-traumatic stress disorder found in thousands of soldiers during World War I.
The symptoms of this disorder are extremely varied and disconcerting in the eyes of other people. In the past, people affected by shell shock did not meet with the compassion of the rest of society and even became the subject of gossip and criticism. At a medical level, the connection between certain mental disorders and the trauma suffered in the trenches was not understood. Some psychiatrists hypothesized that subjects with shell shock might be particularly vulnerable due to genetic predisposition, or even that they were simply faking it. In Italy and beyond, the authorities considered it inappropriate to attribute the origin of certain mental disorders in soldiers to the war, since it would have cast a bad light on military conscription service, which was compulsory at the time. Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that by the end of the First War the foundations for the Second World War were already being prepared. Thus, without obtaining official recognition from either political or scientific world, soldiers affected by shell shock fell victim to prejudice and mistreatment, being generically defined by public opinion with the derogatory term of “war idiots”.
Fortunately, MeVe does not offer only traumatic experiences. Thanks to the numerous interactive platforms scattered throughout Villa Correr Pisani, visitors can conduct in-depth research on topics such as art and literature before and during wars or humanity’s great inventions based on wartime needs. Everyone knows that wars are one of the main drivers of technical innovation. Even objects that we take for granted today, such as paper handkerchiefs, were actually invented to meet needs that emerged in the war field.
Until the 28th June 2026 MeVe will host an exhibition on the importance of communication before and during a war. No conflict could take place without a proper propaganda project. Throughout history, wars have always been wanted by those who exercised power and who managed to convince the population of the necessity of a conflict, of the “goodness” of their motherland as opposed to the “wickedness” of another people. Furthermore, once the war has begun, it is necessary to maintain morale among troops and civilians. Here too, the communicative capacity of propaganda plays an essential role. Fake news, manipulation of real facts and keeping information secret have always been indispensable tools in the hands of the authorities. At MeVe you can discover many curious stories related to this topic.
Espionage and encryption services are also elements of undoubted importance in the war field, but few people have the skills needed to work in these sectors. In this regard, visitors at MeVe can test themselves in various play-teaching stations. You can try to send coded messages between rooms, for example. It sounds like a lot of fun, but it is actually quite a challenging activity and the end result is far from obvious.
Fully experiencing your visit at MeVe means analysing everything with a critical mind, because everywhere inside the villa lie clues creating constant connections between past, present, and future. The museum itinerary is designed to clearly reveal a specific concept: the two World Wars would never have started if the great powers had not launched an arms race long before the conflict officially began, just waiting for any episode to turn into a dangerous spark and blow up the world’s balance of power.
Comments