Officine ATM Teodosio

The Officine ATM played a fundamental role in the strike of the railway workers in March 1943 and in the Liberation of Milan.

The repair hub in via Teodosio was built in the 1920s and, since then, it has given its contribution in repairing and maintaining tram vehicles. The building also hosts the tram depot overlooking via Leoncavallo.

During those months of occupation, the officine became an important place for the antifascist organization within the company. While the socialists lead by Giovanni Buscaglia obtained the right to run the canteen and protect political opponents, many of the youngest ones participated in illegal activities within the communist or socialist party.

In particular, the workers of via Teodosio were the driving force among the railway workers of the strike of March 1943. Thanks to their efforts in terms of propaganda and acts of sabotage of the cars, which had their “manettini” removed, the city was immobilized for four days and public transportation services resumed only after an injunction and out of fear of being arrested by fascist militants. When the demonstration ended, the prefect Piero Parini, as an additional insult, made the workers pay for the damage cause by GUF militants who tried to drive the trams without success.

This episode is not an isolated one in the history of the Resistance at ATM: starting from autumn 1944, the Comitato di agitazione and the CLN organized several strikes to protest against their economic condition. Furthermore, several workers in via Teodosio enlisted in the SAP, the Brigate Matteotti and in the 110th Brigata Garibaldi.

Their role within the hubs and depots was to prevent thefts of material by the German occupiers preparing their retreat.

During their upheaval days, the Officine were run directly by the 110th Brigata Garibaldi; its departments became a place of aggregation for the entire neighborhood, and constituted a food center and a hospitality center for the partisans coming down from the mountains. The 110th Brigata fought in the neighborhood of Lambrate against the Germans barricaded inside the Innocenti and in the clashes near the station.
Cristina Palmieri