In this section, explore the profiles of institutions, foundations, museums, associations, libraries, and archives that have joined the 2026 edition of Community Archives.
AAC Archivio Arte contemporanea, Rovereto
Archivio Storico Societas Raffaello Sanzio, Cesena
Archivissima, Torino
Archivorum, Luxembourg – Torino
Area Studio, Rovereto – Milan
Associazione Archivio Stefano Arienti, Milano
Biblioteca civica Girolamo Tartarotti, Rovereto
Biblioteca Rosminiana, Rovereto
BUC, Trento
Collezione Mauro De Iorio, Trento e Verona
Degli Alberi e delle Foglie, Genealogical Archives, Rovereto
Fondazione Antonio Dalle Nogare, Bolzano
Fondazione Bruno Kessler FBK, Trento
Fondazione CASVA, Milano
Fondazione Museo Civico di Rovereto, Rovereto
Fondazione Museo Miniscalchi Erizzo, Verona
Fondazione Museo storico del Trentino, Trento
Fondazione Trentina per il Volontariato Sociale, Trento
Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano FAI
Kunsthaus Merano, Merano
Mart, Rovereto
MITAG – Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra, Rovereto
Museion, Collezione e Archivio, Bolzano
Maurizio Nannucci/Zona Archives, Firenze
Neon, Bologna
Numero Civico Associazione Culturale, Rovereto
Soprintendenza per i Beni Culturali. Ufficio beni archivistici, librari e Archivio provinciale, Trento
Teche RAI, Rome
AAC Archivio Arte Contemporanea, Rovereto
AAC Archivio Arte Contemporanea is a documentation center based in Rovereto that houses a collection exceeding 200,000 documents, acquired starting from the mid-1980s. The collection primarily focuses on art, design, architecture, philosophy, pedagogy, and contemporary thought. Curated by Stefano Giovanazzi, it functions as both an accumulator and a dispenser of processes and experiences structured around rare and, in some cases, particularly valuable documents: hundreds of artworks, multiples and artist books, thousands of posters, catalogs, and essays. Founded during studies held in Venice through encounters with Emilio Vedova, Luigi Nono, and Filiberto Menna, the archive has been conceived as a ‘catalogue of knowledge around contemporary art and thought.’ Today, it serves as a space for developing ‘processual acts,’ updating models of thought, fostering collaboration, ideation, and production, as well as a theoretical space to elaborate and plan cultural hypotheses, design new editorial and dissemination challenges related to the state of art and knowledge.
Archivio Storico Societas Raffaello Sanzio 1981-2006, Cesena
The documents preserved in the SRS Archive trace the pre-digital and material history of the Archive of the Society – later Societas Raffaello Sanzio – from 1981 to 2006. The publication of the dedicated website for Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio was created on the Archiui platform. The Archive consists of a collection of posters, photographs, drawings, notes, scripts, paintings, books, and videos that can be explored and consulted.
Archivissima, Torino
Archivissima is Italy’s first festival dedicated to promoting the cultural heritage preserved within the archives of institutions, organizations, and companies. Created by Promemoria Group and organized by the cultural association Archivissima APS, the event was launched in 2018 following the success of the format “La Notte degli Archivi” (“The Night of the Archives”). Year after year, the festival renews its commitment to raising public awareness about the stories stored in historical archives and to enhancing Heritage through a blend of different languages and media. In 2026, the event reached its ninth edition, taking place from June 4 to 7 in Turin, at the Turin headquarters of the Polo Museale delle Gallerie d’Italia di Intesa Sanpaolo, and on June 5 across Italy. The festival continues to innovate its tools, media, and formats to serve archival content better. The main goal of Archivissima is to promote the richness of cultural patrimony. To achieve this, it is essential to change the perspective towards the past preserved in documents and records—from viewing it as something fixed and given to seeing it as a space of possibilities. Archives speak to the present and contribute to shaping new paths for the future, from the valorization of assets and widespread cultural participation to shared knowledge and the development of new models for growth within the cultural industry. To maximize participation and engagement from entities of all sizes and locations, Archivissima invests in developing both traditional and digital forms of involvement, supporting the creation of original products and formats alongside in-person events and opportunities for enjoyment.
Archivorum, Luxembourg – Torino
Established in 2019, Archivorum is revolutionizing the role of archives in society, focusing on three key areas: library, cultural public events, and educational & research initiatives. With Archivorum, we’re redefining the way archives are perceived, transforming them from static collections into dynamic engines of social progress. We see archives as key drivers of cultural growth, fostering social progress and enhancing continuous learning and intellectual development. Archivorum is a project that enlightens the world of artists’ archives through its innovative PRE philosophy. Preserve: Archivorum digitally captures the essence of artists’ archives, ensuring that their cultural legacy is both preserved and accessible. Research: we provide grants to scholars and postgraduate students, fostering research and supporting the creation of digital archives dedicated to artists. Educate: through residencies, events, and workshops, we make knowledge about archives available and accessible to the public.
Area Studio, Rovereto – Milano
Area Studio is the historic Rovereto-based printmaking atelier founded in 1974 by Maurizio Giongo and Gloria Canestrini. An artisanal and artistic enterprise, over the course of two decades, it became a reference point for artists, publishers, gallery owners, and collectors. The studio distinguished itself through technical precision, experimentation, and ongoing dialogue with visual research. More than just a production space, it served as a place of encounter and exchange, embodying a cultural model rooted in knowledge transfer, craftsmanship quality, and the centrality of the creative process.
Associazione Archivio Stefano Arienti, Milano
Stefano Arienti Archive Association, Milan The Stefano Arienti Archive Association E.T.S., established in 2026 at the initiative of Stefano Arienti, is based in Milan, at 25 Canelli Street. It pursues no profit and aims to safeguard the artist’s work, promote it, and spread awareness of it. The Association is particularly involved in archiving and cataloging Stefano Arienti’s works, managing his archive (consisting of paper and digital materials collected by the artist throughout his career), and promoting initiatives to deepen understanding of his work. The President of the Association is Stefano Arienti, the Vice President is Gianni Rosei, and the Director is Ilaria Bernardi. Stefano Arienti was born in 1961 in Asola, Mantua, into a farming family, and spent his childhood in an old farmhouse in the Po Valley. As a young man, he developed an interest in scientific studies and in the late 1970s moved to Milan to attend the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, where he graduated in 1986. During his studies, he met some young avant-garde artists from Milan, including Corrado Levi, who would become his first mentor. He began his artistic career without any formal academic training: his creativity was sparked by reflections spanning from biology to art history, from attraction to Eastern culture to love for nature, complemented by a passion for collecting developed since childhood. In 1985, he participated in his first group exhibition with “Muffe,” intervening with colored chalks on the peeling, damp walls of the former Brown Boveri electric motor factory in Milan’s Isola district. It was already clear that a constant in his methodology would be to intervene on existing images, objects, or surfaces to give them new appearance and meaning. Later, he exhibited in Ferrara and Milan; in 1986, he held his first solo show at Corrado Levi’s Studio, and in 1989, he staged an exhibition at Studio Guenzani: he presented the series “Alghe,” long, light strips of colored plastic hanging from above, and “Turbines,” sculptures made from folding magazine pages and industrial paper volumes: in both cases, the process of creating the work, as well as the choice of materials drawn from everyday reality, was central.
Biblioteca civica “Girolamo Tartarotti” di Rovereto, Fondi Storici, Rovereto
The Civic Library is named after Girolamo Tartarotti, a pre-Enlightenment scholar, erudite, and polymath from Rovereto (1706–1761). Upon his death, he bequeathed his entire book collection to the Poor Hospital, trusting that it would be purchased by the municipality. In 1764, the municipality acquired the entire library and established a “public lending library” (at the time one of the few in Italy and almost certainly the first in Tyrol and Austria). Since then, numerous donations and acquisitions have increased the collection to approximately 450,000 volumes, including archival fonds, manuscripts, and special sections (photographs, prints, maps, and plans). Today, the library is spread over a large area within the city’s cultural hub: the first part is housed in a complex structure designed by Mario Botta, which also includes the MART museum and the “Melotti” auditorium; the second part is in the eighteenth-century building of Palazzo Annona. Currently, the library’s holdings include about 415,000 volumes, 8,000 periodicals and newspapers, and 3,500 multimedia works. A network system connecting with national and international libraries ensures quick and efficient borrowing methods. The library also hosts the Municipal Historical Archive, which contains rich documentation on ancient feudal jurisdictions and a dedicated manuscripts section with around 60,000 documents from the 17th century to the present day. Additionally, the library holds 37 other archival fonds and various special collections (prints, drawings, photographs, postcards, and maps).
His History. By the mid-18th century, Rovereto was experiencing a flourishing period for its economy, primarily linked to silk production. With a thriving economy, culture also flourished, open to the horizons of pre-Illumination thinking. The city enjoyed notable intellectual vitality and had about 5,000 inhabitants (today it has 38,000). In this environment, in 1750, the Academy of the Agiati was founded — the first of its kind within the Habsburg Empire — initiated by some young people raised under the guidance of Girolamo Tartarotti. Within a few years, under the leadership of Giuseppe Valeriano Vannetti (1719–1764), it gathered numerous representatives of Italian and European thought and became a meeting place between German and Italian culture. Girolamo Tartarotti was a pre-Illuminist, erudite, and polygraph from Rovereto (1706–1761), who vigorously fought against witch trials in his work Del congresso notturno delle lammie (1749). It is precisely from Tartarotti and 18th-century Rovereto that the history of our library begins. Upon his death, he left his entire collection of books (about 2,000 volumes) as a legacy to the Poor Hospital (managed by the Confraternity of Saints Rocco and Sebastian), trusting that they would be purchased by the municipality. This was carried out thanks to the efforts of his friends Francesco Saibanti and Giuseppe Valeriano Vannetti (founders of the Academy and city administrators at the same time). In 1764, the municipality became the owner of the entire library, intending to create a public reading room (at the time one of the few in Italy and probably the first in Tyrol and Austria). The historic storage houses both Tartarotti’s volumes and those donated by subsequent benefactors from the 18th and 19th centuries (about 60,000 titles). The most significant donations come from the Academy itself, the Clergy Library, and private individuals. The collection mainly includes texts related to philosophy, history, and the humanities, with interesting sections on agronomy, medicine, sciences, and law, reflecting the specific interests of individual donors. In 1964, on the occasion of the bicentennial of its founding, the city questioned how to adapt the library’s services to the new needs of users: no longer just a historical and conservation library, but an institution offering modern services and a constantly updated collection. It was decided to establish an “open shelf” section, inspired by Anglo-Saxon models, complementing the traditional preservation library with an innovative public library. This change led to growth that prompted the city to create a new space suitable for a broader and more diverse audience. Construction of the new part began in 1997 and was completed in 2002. The current premises cover a very large area (9,000 m²), structured into two zones within the city’s cultural hub: the first in the complex designed by Mario Botta, which also includes the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto (MART) and the “Melotti” auditorium; the second in the 18th-century building of Palazzo Annona (also called “Palace of Wheat”). This latter has housed the library since the late 1920s and was completely restored in 2007. Designed around the mid-1700s by Ambrogio Rosmini (uncle of the Rovereto philosopher Don Antonio Rosmini; two mottos were chosen by Ambrogio Rosmini for his work—one thought of at the beginning and one at the end of the construction: “Civitas de suo erigi curavit” and “Urbem alit et ornat”. Both are well suited to the library, which has adopted them.), it was intended to store grain supplies for the city, although it was never actually used for this purpose. Today, it houses administrative offices, the historic warehouse, the reading and reference room of the historic library, the seat of the Cognitive Sciences Library of the University of Trento, the Graphic Art Laboratory, and the Handmade Paper Laboratory. The latter offers a permanent exhibition of ancient printing presses, presses, cutters, and equipment from old typographic workshops, as well as space for cultural, educational, and workshop activities.
Biblioteca Rosminiana, Rovereto
It was established in 1985 upon the initiative of the Rosminian Fathers’ Community present in Rovereto, with the aim of promoting the knowledge of their Founder, the philosopher from Rovereto, Antonio Rosmini, and making his entire literary and archival heritage available to the public. Located within the Rosmini Palace, occupying some ground floor spaces, it is a specialized library with a philosophical-theological focus, becoming a reference point for all those wishing to deepen their understanding of Antonio Rosmini’s figure and thought. The official opening to the public took place in 1987. Recognizing the importance of the Rosminian Library’s participation in the Trentino Bibliographic Catalog, in 1991 a request for membership was submitted to the Autonomous Province of Trento. Following the signing of an agreement between the Rosminian Fathers and the Autonomous Province of Trento, and with the commitment of the Rosminian Fathers to collaborate in the development and continuous updating of the CBT, the library began active participation in the bibliographic cooperation program, enabling the sharing of information with other participating libraries.
BUC – Biblioteca Universitaria Centrale, Trento
The Central University Library (La BUC) serves the teaching and research activities of the departments in the socio-economic, legal, humanistic, and medical fields. The building, designed by Renzo Piano, is a recently constructed structure and is organized into seven floors distributed across four sections. On February 11, 2026, the library was named after Alcide De Gasperi in the presence of the Head of State, Sergio Mattarella. Since 2014, it has been responsible for external relations of the VAF Stiftung and for organizing and coordinating the exhibitions of the VAF Foundation Prize in Italy and Germany.
Collezione Mauro De Iorio, Trento Verona
“The idea of establishing both the medical center and the cultural center in the same location stems from the desire to unite my two great passions, medicine and art, in a continuous flow between technology, art, and beauty.” The De Iorio Collection is exhibited across three spaces: two in Trento—one connected to the Diagnostic Center and the other in a historic building in the city center. The third space, in Verona, was inaugurated in 2021 in a renovated sawmill from the 1930s, connected to the new Diagnostic Center.
Degli Alberi e delle Foglie, archivio genealogico, Rovereto
The research work on genealogical documents and their transcription, combined with ongoing targeted interviews, has enabled Stefano Giovanazzi to reconstruct most of the family lineages (281 surnames) residing in southern Trentino, near the border with Veneto. Verifying the collected information, along with activities aimed at filling data gaps, will allow for the reconstruction of family trees dating back to 1550, and in particularly fortunate cases, as far back as 1300. Creating a genealogy of a community is an experience that sits at the intersection of history, human relationships, emotions, willpower, and chance. It offers a different perspective on our connection with others and our daily lives. This approach combines anthropological and behavioral perspectives, considering the natural world, geography, demography, climate, and many other factors. Such an analysis allows us to glimpse the invisible threads that form the deep layers of what is often called the ‘collective unconscious’ in analytical terms. A journey through these connections helps us better understand the origins of our identity and differences, as well as the mechanisms underlying the social fabric, which is often torn, and its development over time.
Fondazione Antonio Dalle Nogare, Bolzano
Since the beginning of its activity, the Foundation decided to make a selection of these works available to the public promoting a daily coexistence with the artistic practice of contemporary masters. The aim is to create a space that would be a place of conceptual, intellectual and aesthetic fruition, open to all interested parties. The collection’s display, housed in the two rooms on the first floor of the Foundation, is curated by the curator Eva Brioschi. The Foundation’s actions are characterized by: – its focus on future generations; – its continuous research; – its dynamic social and cultural context for the whole community; – its connections with international and local stakeholders. The Foundation operates in three ways: – interaction with international and local artists; – experimentation through innovative exhibition projects, a public program and a specialized library; – education through meetings and initiatives aimed at raising and broadening the awareness of contemporary art. The Antonio Dalle Nogare Foundation was established to promote contemporary art as a language for interpreting changes in society, as a tool for promoting interaction between art, architecture, innovation and artistic research and as a means of bringing an increasingly wider public closer to the contemporary. The Foundation’s Library hosts a collection of more than 1300 books on contemporary art – monographs, catalogues, magazines, artists’ books and editions – on the artists and the artworks in the collection, but more generally on all the most significant artistic movements from the mid-twentieth century onwards. Born from Dalle Nogare’s passion for the study of contemporary art and reading, this ever-expanding collection is a starting point for studying and communicating contemporary art, and it actively supports the exhibition activities of the Foundation.
FBK Fondazione Bruno Kessler. Biblioteca, Trento
The library of the Bruno Kessler Foundation holds an ancient collection, personal archives, personal and institutional libraries, audio recordings of conferences from the ISIG and ISR research centers, maps, and microfilms. Donations made to the library are processed, organized, and cataloged in accordance with their integrity and archival constraints; only the old volumes are physically removed from the library, not managed separately, to ensure their preservation under suitable environmental conditions. When both bibliographic and archival collections pertain to the same subject, efforts are made to facilitate dialogue between the two collections. The library possesses approximately 1,750 ancient volumes (printed before 1801). These are mainly acquired through donations, from personal libraries (from which they have been physically separated to ensure their conservation without losing the bibliographic link to the original collection), or purchased from antiquarian markets, dating back to the early decades of the Trentino Culture Institute. The focus is on the history of religion, institutions, and science. A complete list of the volumes is available in CBT under the shelf mark ‘s-ar’. An Excel file list is available upon request. The library’s illustrated ancient volumes have also served as the source of illustrations for the Coloring Books Colorabilia in 2022 and 2024.
Fondazione CASVA, Milan
The CASVA Foundation was established in Milan in 2018 by architect Teresa (Zita) Mosca, who had worked for many years with architect Luciano Baldessari, a prominent figure in 20th-century Milanese and international architecture. The CASVA Foundation, dedicated to Baldessari’s memory—whom Zita called “my Master”—aims to support the preservation, enhancement, and dissemination of the architectural heritage of the 20th and 21st centuries preserved at CASVA—the Centre for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts of the Milan Municipality. CASVA is the department of the Milan Municipality responsible for safeguarding and promoting contemporary architecture archives. It was Zita Mosca who conceived the original CASVA project, developed in collaboration with a group of historians and researchers, including Fulvio Irace and Alessandra Mottola Molfino, who was then the Director of Culture, Museums, Sports, and Leisure of Milan (1998-2006). The Baldessari archive was the first collection acquired by CASVA in 2002. Over time, CASVA has evolved into an “archive of archives” for architects primarily active in Lombardy, becoming a center for the study of architecture, design, graphics, and visual arts in a broader cultural context—focusing on the cultural phenomena that, from the early 20th century onward, have shaped society. Among the collections held there are those of Enzo Mari, Vittorio Gregotti, Roberto Sambonet, Fredi Drugman, Virgilio Vercelloni, Francesco Gnecchi-Ruscone, De Pas-D’Urbino-Lomazzi, and many others. The Foundation serves as a tool to promote the culture of preserving architecture archives, with a particular focus on Milan. It is open to dialogue with individuals and research groups interested in the future of their professional documentation, encouraging networking of resources and expertise. Zita Mosca’s project, in line with her generous and inclusive vision of culture, seeks to safeguard not only the Baldessari collection but all the collections preserved at CASVA, especially with an educational perspective aimed at younger generations. The CASVA Foundation accompanies the upcoming relocation of CASVA to the former covered market of QT8, participating in cultural activities proposed to the public throughout this process. Since 2019, the CASVA Foundation has been a joint initiative of the City of Milan.
Fondazione Museo Civico di Rovereto, Rovereto
The Civic Museum of Rovereto is one of the oldest museums in Italy. Founded as a private society in 1851, it is unique in its kind because it originated from a project devised by a group of men—scientists as well as members of the ruling or entrepreneurial class—with the aim of preserving and promoting the city’s heritage, fostering the study of natural sciences and arts, and protecting local assets from potential acquisitions by Austrian museums during the Habsburg domination. Since 2013, it has become a foundation and operates two venues: the Museum of Sciences and Archaeology and the City Museum. The Museum of Sciences and Archaeology features disciplines such as archaeology, zoology, botany, astronomy, earth sciences, and robotics. It offers permanent galleries with valuable collections as well as important temporary exhibitions that explore different themes each year. The historical collections and the story of the territory have led to the creation of a permanent display with dedicated rooms for minerals, fossils, and birds, including some of the most important regional collections. The archaeology rooms tell the story of the territory but also host the splendid Paolo Orsi collection. The second exhibition venue of the foundation, the City Museum, is dedicated to telling the story of Rovereto through the voices and faces of its protagonists. It showcases Rovereto, its history, and its characters through artworks from the city’s art collections and objects and artifacts ranging from the earliest phases of the city’s history, the Silk Age, up to modern times.
Fondazione Museo Miniscalchi Erizzo, Verona
The Miniscalchi-Erizzo Museum, home of the eponymous Foundation established in 1964, is located in a complex of buildings with a late medieval layout in the heart of Verona, between Piazza delle Erbe and the Cathedral. Its diverse collection includes fossils, Etruscan and Roman artifacts, paintings, ancient drawings, sculptures, bronzes and plaques, as well as majolica, porcelain, antique furniture, weapons and armor, along with an impressive library and family archives. The collection has a layered history, being the result and consequence of the merging of collections from different families, and a fundamental component is what remains of the famous Wunderkammer created by the scholar Ludovico Moscardo from around 1630 to 1681. The presentation will primarily focus on the events related to this latter part of the collection, its partial dispersion, and the memories it still preserves and allows us to reconstruct.
Fondazione Museo storico del Trentino, Fondi e collezioni, Trento
The archive preserves photographs related to the historical scope covered by the Museum (primarily the history of the Risorgimento, World War I, and World War II), almost entirely concerning Trentino: approximately 15,000 photographs/prints; 1,254 photographic plates; and around 3,000 negatives. The Museum’s iconographic collection includes posters, maps, geographic charts, postcards, prints, and paintings mainly depicting the territory and history of Trentino: about 2,000 cataloged items. The Documentation Center on political and social movements of the 1960s-1970s, part of the Trentino Historical Museum Foundation, was established following two specific events: the 1988 meeting at the Sociology Faculty in Trento with former students who participated in the ’68 movement, and the subsequent murder of the movement’s main leader, Mauro Rostagno, by the mafia. The Trentino Historical Museum Foundation inherited from the Trento Historical Museum and previously from the Risorgimento Museum several archival collections, including two miscellaneous archival fonds organized thematically and chronologically. These are known as the “Archive E” (supplemented by the AL archive) and the “Resistance Archive” (augmented by the “World War II and Resistance Archive, new series”). Individuals and families have also donated their libraries over time, which are cataloged and stored together to preserve their added value and coherence. The historical collections of civilian and military objects include artworks, everyday tools, honors, flags, weapons, uniforms, and soldier equipment. To date, approximately 3,500 pieces are preserved within these historical collections.
Fondazione Trentina per il Volontariato Sociale, Trento
The Trentino Foundation for Social Volunteering was established in 1998, inheriting the legacy of the historic Mutual Aid Society of Artisans of Trento. After fulfilling its original social objectives, this society chose to allocate its assets to support social volunteering. As a philanthropic organization, the Foundation provides funds and services to support social volunteer associations; it organizes activities and events to promote the culture of volunteering; and it identifies emerging needs to design and incentivize immediate interventions. The Mutual Aid Society of Artisans of Trento was founded in Trento between 1851 and 1852 by local artisans, professionals, and entrepreneurs with a simple and fundamental goal: “to meet the material needs of its members” during times of illness or work incapacity. In a context lacking public welfare systems, mutual aid was based on a key principle: sharing risk. Members contributed regular contributions and accepted strict behavioral rules to build a system of collective protection. The society’s support went beyond economic assistance; it was based on a social pact rooted in mutual responsibility, discipline, and a sense of belonging. This normative and organizational dimension is already an important archival element: statutes, registers, and resolutions reveal how a community defines and governs itself. The most profound part of the Society’s archive is represented by the “supplications”: letters sent by members or their families requesting aid. These documents constitute an extraordinary human heritage. They are not merely administrative practices but serve as direct testimonies of daily life: illnesses, old age, disability, job insecurity, and family responsibilities. Through supplications, individual stories emerge that become collective memory: the artisan unable to work, the wife writing to obtain continued support, the elderly requesting an increase to cope with the cost of living.
FAI – Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano
FAI – the Italian National Trust is a non-profit organization founded in 1975 with a clear mission: to help protect, conserve, and enhance Italy’s heritage of art, nature, and landscapes. For 50 years, it has committed itself daily to caring for special places in Italy for present and future generations, promoting education, love, knowledge, and enjoyment of the environment, scenery, and the country’s historical and artistic heritage. It also works to safeguard landscape and cultural assets. Today, FAI manages 75 properties, of which 59 are regularly open to the public and 16 are under restoration. These represent a significant heritage that has been recovered, valued, and returned to the community, for everyone and forever. Castles, villas, monasteries, abbeys, parks, and forests: unique places open to the public for most of the year, thanks to the concrete support of numerous donors, both individuals and companies.
Kunsthaus Merano, Merano
The Kunsthaus of Merano, in South Tyrol, is a space dedicated to contemporary art and architecture. Here, we present, discuss, and foster dialogue around current artistic research, addressing social, cultural, and aesthetic issues that shape our time. Among the most longstanding and active art institutions in the region, Kunsthaus combines strong local roots with an international perspective, with particular attention to artistic production and critical debate. Through exhibitions, events, educational programs, and publications, we actively contribute to the history of art and culture, both locally and on a broader scale. We intentionally expand existing narratives, including perspectives that are often forgotten, marginalized, or overlooked. Special attention is given to stories that go beyond heteronormative and Western-centric canons. Each year, we realize up to five exhibitions, often conceived as site-specific productions developed in close collaboration with artists, architecture studios, and other local entities. Our interdisciplinary programming, mediation activities, and residency programs make Kunsthaus a meeting place open to an audience interested in art of all ages. Our goal is not only to exhibit art and architecture but to foster a dialogue—viewed as social, aesthetic, and collective experiences—between these fields, artists, and the broader public. Kunsthaus is an independent platform for contemporary artistic practice, deeply connected to South Tyrol while also being part of an international network.
Mart Archivio del ‘900, Rovereto
Mart’s Historic Archives and the Specialized Library constitute the ‘Archive of the 20th Century’: a cultural laboratory where exhibition activities, study, and research are closely interconnected. Over 80 library and documentary collections of artists, architects, critics, and galleries are integrated into the Collections, including historical documents, personal objects of artists, and unpublished materials, offering a unique and comprehensive narrative of 20th-century Italy. The Library specializes in 19th and 20th-century art, with particular attention to the avant-garde. It houses approximately 1,600 periodical titles and over 85,000 monographic volumes, including a rich collection of original Futurist publications, artist books, artist magazines, and more than 12,000 exhibition catalogs. [https://www.mart.tn.it/archivio-del-900]
MITAG, Rovereto
The historical archives of the Italian Military History Museum (MITAG) in Rovereto house over 200 document fonds and 100,000 photographs related to conflicts from the modern era to the 21st century. The library’s collection is organized into the following sections: Ancient Fonds (A): This collection includes editions published before 1801. Although modest in size, it contains important 16th and 17th-century incunabula, mostly printed in Italy, related to military machines and war theory. “History” Fonds (S and S Op): Comprising monographs and pamphlets published after 1801, this section covers the political, diplomatic, and military history of European states, especially during the modern and contemporary periods. It also includes key texts on ancient and medieval warfare. “Technology” Fonds (T and T Op): Consisting of monographs and pamphlets published after 1801, this collection pertains to military engineering, equipment of armies, and the technology of light and heavy weaponry, with particular focus on the modern and contemporary eras. “Miscellaneous” Fonds (V and V Op): This includes monographs and pamphlets published after 1801 on diverse topics such as contemporary art, museology, museum studies, archival science, and library science. It also contains hiking and city guides. Periodicals (Emeroteca): With a collection of 1,900 titles, this section features magazines of military-historical interest. Notably, it includes newspapers from World War I (especially trench newspapers), publications of veteran associations, military culture magazines (e.g., Rivista Militare Italiana, Rivista di Artiglieria e Genio), and illustrated magazines from the two World Wars (e.g., La Guerra, L’Illustrazione Italiana, Illustrierte Zeitung, Militärwissenschaftliche und technische Mitteilungen, Le Miroir, Signal, and Die Wehrmacht). Within the periodicals collection, specific thematic nuclei are curated, such as the scarce colonial periodicals (“Bollettino di Gimma,” “Il Giornale di Addis Abeba,” “Rivista delle Colonie d’Oriente”) and Fiume newspapers (“L’Adriatico,” “Il Popolo di Fiume,” “La Vedetta d’Italia”). The collection is continuously updated through subscriptions and exchanges with other national historical institutions, focusing on specialized magazines about weapons, defense policies, military branches (carabinieri, finance, navy, air force), contemporary and military history. Mediateca: Comprising 1,400 items, this multimedia section includes VHS tapes, CDs/DVDs, discs, and audiocassettes. The VHS tapes and DVDs feature documentaries on conflicts of the 20th century, while discs and audiocassettes contain recordings of military marches, Alpine songs, and anthems produced during the two world wars and the Fascist regime.
Museion, Collezione e Archivio, Bolzano
The library supports the museum team in bibliographic research related to exhibitions and events organized by Museion and in documenting the activities of the artists represented in the collection, in order to reflect the history of the institution and its cultural heritage. To date, the library holds approximately 30,000 catalogues and monographs, 800 rare and artist’s books, and 30 subscriptions to international journals. Since January 2011, following an agreement between the Museion Foundation and the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, the museum’s library holdings have been housed in a dedicated section of the university library. This has created a highly specialized documentation centre on visual art, with essays and catalogues on artists, movements, and exhibitions of contemporary art acquired since 1991. All these materials, as well as those of the Faculty of Design and Arts, are available for consultation. The Museion collection originated in the late 1980s and currently comprises around 4,400 works. It is the result of a targeted acquisition policy, including loans, deposits, and donations, with ongoing collaboration between public and private collecting. The initial focus was on artists of the Italian avant-garde, with a strong openness toward the Central European area. Over the years, the museum has developed a distinct profile, also through the formation of several thematic nuclei, such as the light works collection ranging from kinetic art to research from the 1950s and 1960s, up to more recent spatial investigations. The largest and most significant nucleus within the Museion collection explores verbo-visual practices and has been further enriched since 2021 through the acquisition of part of the Archivio di Nuova Scrittura collection, donated by Paolo Della Grazia.
Maurizio Nannucci/Zona Archives, Florence
The archival complex results from Maurizio Nannucci’s collecting enterprise, initiated in the mid-1960s and continuing to the present day. The documentation began accumulating with the start of his artistic and editorial activities, collecting materials related to his productions, with particular attention to so-called “ephemeral” documents (invitations, postcards, mail art, stamps, posters, stickers) and audio works. Simultaneously, from 1965 onward, Nannucci built a rich collection of artist books, magazines, and concrete poetry documents. These materials were complemented by documentation related to projects curated by the publishing house Exempla (officially founded in 1970 alongside Mario Mariotti and Claudio Parmiggiani, but active since 1967 through the edition of multiples and books), the self-managed and non-profit space Zona (1974–1985), and its editorial projects Zona Editions. Additional documentation includes the magazine «Mèla», a periodical dedicated to writing and images from Marciana, Elba Island (1976–1981), the record label Recorthings, established in 1975, and the non-profit space Base Progetti per l’arte, co-founded in Florence in 1998. In 2008, Nannucci published “Undisclosed Recipients” 1998/2002, a selection of correspondence received and sent between January 1998 and December 2002, via email atmnannucci@dada.it, involving artists, architects, and critics such as AA Bronson, Mario Airò, John Baldessari, Maurizio Cattelan, Giorgio Colombo, Augusto de Campos, Antonio Dias, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Massimiliano Fuksas, Liam Gillick, John Giorno, Robert Lax, Antoni Muntadas, Renzo Piano, Cesare Pietroiusti, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Lawrence Weiner, among others. Between 2015 and 2016, during the exhibition “Maurizio Nannucci Top Hundred” organized by the Museion Foundation in Bolzano in collaboration with the Marino Marini Museum in Florence, he began cataloging a selection of artist books, records, multiples, audio and video works, posters, and ephemera. In 2016, he also published a catalog of editions and multiples produced since 1967. The Maurizio Nannucci/Zona Archives comprise heterogeneous materials documenting Nannucci’s multifaceted activity from the mid-1960s onward, including multiples, artist books, magazines, correspondence (both paper and digital), ephemera (invitations, postcards, stickers, stamps, mail art), posters, audio and video works. Additionally, the collection includes materials related to the entities he founded from the late 1960s: Exempla and Zona Editions, which produced multiples and published artist books by artists such as Paul Armand Gette, John Armleder, Luciano Bartolini, Claude Closky, Nico Dockx, Peter Downsbrough, Robert Filliou, Rainer Ganahl, General Idea, John Giorno, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Dick Higgins, Joseph Kosuth, Robert Lax, James Lee Byars, Sol LeWitt, Paolo Masi, Jonathan Monk, Olivier Mosset, Antoni Muntadas, Matt Mullican, Massimo Nannucci, Carsten Nicolai, John Nixon & Marco Fusinato, Yoko Ono, Michael Snow, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Lawrence Weiner, and Heimo Zobernig. The collection also encompasses documentation from Zona’s self-managed, non-profit activities—including multiples, artist editions, ephemera, photographic and audiovisual documentation—the magazine «Mèla», the Recorthings record label, and the Base Progetti per l’arte space. The specialized library contains exhibition catalogs, scholarly and literary books, as well as a collection of artist books and magazines, along with documentation related to concrete poetry. Since the 1960s, Nannucci has also collected all forms of ‘ephemeral’ documentation (invites, fanzines, multiples, and editions) produced by other artists, museums, and galleries.
Neon, Bologna
“In 1981, Neon appeared on the Bologna art scene without a predetermined program, proposing itself as a laboratory of ideas, available to artists and curators who wanted to engage and develop new paths. The history of Neon in Bologna: conceived as a consequence of Settantasette, a “spazio di utopia nato quando le utopie rivoluzionarie si scioglievano” (space of utopia born when revolutionary utopias dissolved) Neon was born from Gino Gianuizzi’s intuition, taking shape as an original and unconventional experience.” In thirty years of activity, operational until 2011, the Neon Bologna space – run on Via Solferino by Gianuizzi along with Francesca Alinovi first, and Roberto Daolio later – has gathered and fostered the development of artistic experiences and experiments. In 2022, MAMbo dedicated an exhibition to it, which led to the 2023 publication of the volume NO, NEON, NO CRY. Text by Livia Montagnoli, for which we thank her, published on https://www.artribune.com/
Numero Civico, Rovereto
Founded in Rovereto in 1994 from its inaugural exhibition bearing its name, over the years it has launched an intensive schedule of events dedicated to experimental productions, spanning visual arts, music, cinema, video, and writing. The Numero Civico program stands out on the national scene for its commitment and ability to support artists’ project work and to provide valuable and appropriate assistance to those working primarily with new media. Special attention is given to the realization of video installations, always maintaining an approach outside of traditional disciplinary boundaries. For years, Numero Civico operated at “Fabrika Spazio Temporaneo d’Arte” in Rovereto, an industrial building measuring 64 meters by 8 meters (500 square meters), capable of hosting large-scale audio-video installations. The organization has curated exhibitions, installations, and video festivals with artists such as Bill Viola, Michael Snow, Bruce Elder, Luca Quartana, Francesco Dal Bosco, Luca Pancrazzi, Vedova Mazzei, and many others, collaborating with institutions, museums, and galleries. Primarily dedicated to contemporary arts, it implements targeted practices aimed at fostering production, management, and preservation. It facilitates relationships between artists, existing cultural institutions, collectors, and the public; participates in the conception, programming, and management of cultural and exhibition events.
Soprintendenza per i beni librari, archivistici e archeologici. Ufficio beni archivistici, librari e archivio provinciale, Trento
The Office for Archival, Library, and Provincial Archive Assets preserves and ensures public access to the archives and historical documents of the Provincial Government and its subordinate structures, as well as provincial schools of all levels and the archives and documents that the Province owns or holds in deposit by law or other means. It performs similar duties regarding the archives and documents of instrumental entities of the Province, territorial public entities, and public entities operating in areas within the Province’s competence or delegated to it, and, when required, also manages those of the Provincial Council.It safeguards the historical archives and documents of the State Archive of Trento entrusted to it for custody and maintenance, collaborating with the State Archive for the study, valorization, and public accessibility of the stored heritage. It exercises oversight over current and deposit paper and digital archives of the Provincial Government and its subordinate structures, managing the archives within its jurisdiction.It functions as the general storage archive for the archives of the Provincial Government and its subordinate structures. It is responsible for activities related to the protection, conservation, restoration, study, and enhancement of provincial library assets and archives, including issuing related authorizations and certifications.It collaborates with the Director in preparing the functional and financial programming. Through dedicated laboratories, it carries out research, experimentation, and educational activities in the field of book and document restoration, managing interventions to protect and promote the archival and library heritage through reproduction activities using analog and digital technologies.It also handles activities aimed at the training and updating of the Trentino toponymic dictionary and issues authorizations related to toponymy. Additionally, it performs services related to managing the digital protocol, document flow management, archives, and preservation activities.
Teche RAI, Rome
RAI began its radio broadcasts in 1924 (initially called URI and shortly after DIAR) and its television transmissions in 1954. We are therefore talking about pages of history and a great tradition that is also rooted in Europe, much of which is preserved in the extraordinary “Teche” archives. These archives contain all the broadcasts from TV and radio, along with their repertories. The RAI Teche house documents, images, and footage that reconstruct the history of the 20th century and the first fifteen years of the 2000s, serving as a source that now fuels daily programs, as well as the studies of contemporary historians. Increasingly, they also enrich museums, exhibitions, and cultural events across the territory. Every day, RAI recorded events, personalities, sports, traditions, culture, changes in habits, tastes, and modes of communication, entertainment, and suffering of Italians: in short, a long and grand narrative of the country’s evolution. This heritage traverses literature, cinema, theater, music, and sports. It features a gallery of historic figures including writers, directors, musicians, Nobel laureates, critics, actors, and protagonists of politics and society. An essential past for building the future, so much so that UNESCO has included the RAI Teche in the Memory of Italy archive.
