2024 – The Irreducible Substance of Passions
#passions
The seventh edition of Archivissima concluded on June 9 with the International Archives Day. This year’s edition saw the participation of over 450 organizations, 190 live events, and the national event La Notte degli Archivi (The Night of the Archives), which opened the doors of institutions across all 20 regions of Italy.
The common thread of the event was #passions—a powerful force for social transformation and a vital glue in human relationships. Passions lie at the heart of revolutionary and essential projects; they can be all-consuming, destructive, and deeply visceral.
Dedicated to the memory of Michela Murgia, this edition of Archivissima featured a rich program of events in collaboration with numerous partners, including Gallerie d’Italia, Biennale Tecnologia, OGR Torino, Circolo dei Lettori, Pinacoteca Agnelli, Collezione Maramotti, Museo Nazionale del Cinema, La Stampa, Mediateca Rai, Museimpresa, and Polo del ‘900.
Among the guests of this edition:
Boris Belenkin Donato Carrisi Annalisa Camilli Marco Damilano Mario Desiati Maria Luisa Frisa Giovanna M. Gatti Petros Markarīs Carlo Massarini Loredana Macchietti Minà Francesca Emilia Minà Massimo Osanna Stefano Petrocchi Massimo Recalcati Vanessa Roghi Luca Scarlini Chiara Tagliaferri Angela Terzani Staude Anna Zafesova
2023 – Traveling with Archives
#carnetdevoyage
The sixth edition of Archivissima—the first festival dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of archival heritage—was held from June 8 to 11, 2023. Once again, it showcased the immense potential held within historical archives, culminating on Friday, June 9 with a double celebration: La Notte degli Archivi (The Night of the Archives), the festival’s flagship event, and International Archives Day, celebrated across the country.
Dedicated to the theme of travel—more specifically, the Carnet de voyage—the 2023 edition saw sold-out attendance at nearly all in-person events across various regions, as well as full bookings for the main program’s talks and presentations. More than 5,500 people participated directly; the website received 63,000 visits, social media accounts reached 180,000 users, and nearly 2,500 digital contents related to the festival and La Notte degli Archivi were created, confirming Archivissima as a dynamic communication ecosystem for archives and participating institutions.
Among the guests of this edition:
Enrico Brizzi Nicoletta Bortolotti Ferruccio de Bortoli Annalisa Camilli Silvia Einaudi Fabio Geda Fernando Gentilini Flavio Giurato Matthias Martelli Michela Murgia Marta Ottaviani Sara Poma Domenico Quirico Enrico Rotelli Cecilia Sala Luca Scarlini Chiara Tagliaferri Stefano Tiozzo
2022 – BACK IN PERSON
#change
Archivissima—the only festival dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of archival heritage—returned to an in-person format from June 9 to 12, 2022, in Turin. La Notte degli Archivi (The Night of the Archives), held on June 10 in a hybrid format (both on-site and online) across Italy, brought together over 400 participating archives and once again proved to be a successful model.
The final figures from the edition, which concluded on June 12, 2022, highlight yet another meaningful achievement: 391 participating institutions from 19 Italian regions and abroad, 60 podcasts produced, over 200 videos created, nearly 25,000 website visitors during the festival days alone, and 2,000 hours of content viewed throughout the event. Archivissima continues to be an initiative that sparks curiosity, offers engaging content, provides depth, and brings the dynamic world of archives—and the change driving it—to audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Among the guests of this edition:
Marco Balzano Giulia Caminito Massimo Carlotto Giuseppe Culicchia Bruno Gambarotta Fabio Genovesi Paolo Rumiz Luca Scarlini Chiara Valerio
2021 – THE HYBRID EDITION
#generations
Archivissima—the only festival dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of archival heritage—was held in Turin from June 4 to 9, 2021, for the first time in a hybrid format, both in person and online, confirming the success of the initiative. Its flagship event, La Notte degli Archivi (The Night of the Archives), took place across Italy on June 4, 2021, and exceeded expectations in terms of participation, with over 300 archives involved and a highly engaged audience.
All in-person events (held at the Polo del ‘900 in Turin) were fully booked.
Throughout the weekend, Archivissima reached nearly 40,000 people via its website and social media channels. The website alone welcomed over 20,000 unique visitors, with more than 10,000 page views per day. La Notte degli Archivi confirmed its status as the public’s favorite format, with more than 35,000 video views and over 20,000 user interactions.
The five podcasts produced by Archivissima and curated by Valentina De Poli were also very well received, as were the exhibitions PHYLUM | Generazioni d’archivio curated by Viola Invernizzi and Il pensiero in meno by Irene Dionisio.
Among the guests who joined us:
Diletta Parlangeli Matteo Caccia Espérance Hakuzwimana Ripanti Fabio Geda Alessandro D’Avenia Alessandro Perissinotto Paola Agosti Giulia Caminito Ilaria Gaspari Amir Issa Valerio Millefoglie Nadeesha Uyangoda Loredana Rotondo Giorgio Vasta Michela Murgia
2020 – DIGITAL EDITION
#women
The third edition of Archivissima took place from June 5 to 8, 2020, in an unprecedented and experimental format. The mid-process shift to digital resulted in a special edition, met with an impressive response from both archives and participants. The outcome included over 180 events, 125 original podcasts (including the first curated audio series dedicated to archives – The Sound Atlas), and 95 videos for La Notte degli Archivi, which collectively reached 200,000 unique views across social media and the website, bringing the stories of around 200 archives from all over Italy to a wide audience.
The theme of the edition was women—more specifically, the paths and stories of change, revolution, and innovation in which women have played a leading role across history, culture, science, and the arts.
Despite the digital format, the Polo del ‘900 renewed its commitment and collaboration with the Festival by promoting, together with ANAI, the series of talks Archive, Human, Digital, and by becoming the virtual home of La Notte degli Archivi, providing Archivissima with a space and platform to engage with the key voices of the digital edition.
Among the guests who joined us:
Stefania Auci Matteo Caccia Laura Curino Gabriella Greison Eliana Liotta Francesca Manfredi Cathy La Torre Michela Murgia Vladimir Luxuria Lidia Ravera Anna Sapino Valerio Millefoglie
2019 – Archivissima
#breakingbarriers
The second edition of Archivissima concluded on Monday, April 15, 2019, after four days of talks, conferences, exhibitions, workshops, round tables, concerts, and screenings dedicated to the world of archives.
Thanks to the commitment of the Archivissima association, its partners, and sponsors, the festival offered a free and truly inclusive event aimed at showing how archives can be tools for engagement, sources of knowledge and authority, and foundations for critical thinking. For the first time, a unifying theme was introduced for both the festival and the participating archives.
The 2019 edition celebrated three key 20th-century anniversaries—the publication of the Futurist Manifesto (1911), the first human landing on the Moon (1969), and the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)—all interpreted through the lens of one central theme: overcoming barriers.
The festival was based at the Polo del ‘900, which also hosted the Superarchivi exhibition, but the entire city was involved thanks to the extended Archivissima Extra network.
Among the guests of the 2019 edition:
Giuseppe Culicchia Nicola Lagioia Michela Murgia Giusi Nicolini Mario Tozzi Bruce Sterling
2018 – Archivissima
The Festival and The Night of the Archives
The first edition of Archivissima kicked off from June 6 to 8, 2018. Over 170 events took place across 62 venues throughout Turin, welcoming a diverse audience of experts and enthusiasts and offering a fresh perspective on archives and the stories preserved within these collections.
More than 150 archives from all over Italy participated in the initiative. Among them, on the evening of Friday, June 8, fifteen historic Turin archives (public institutions and private companies) opened their doors to the public, hosting authors who served as ambassadors of the treasures held by the city’s archival heritage, celebrating the third Night of the Archives.
For the first time, students played a central role in the contest “The School Adopts an Archive”—a prize competition designed to encourage discovery and deepen knowledge of archival professions and cultural heritage promotion. Fourteen schools and their respective adopted archives participated in a three-month journey that culminated in an exciting awards ceremony held on June 7 at the Intesa Sanpaolo skyscraper, attended by 350 students and teachers.
Among the guests of the 2018 edition:
Enrica Tesio Andrea Marcolongo Giuseppe Culicchia Andrea Scanzi Lorenza Gentile Luca Bianchini
2017 – The Night of the Archives
Archives told as great historical novels
On September 15, 2017, Turin hosted the second edition of The Night of the Archives: a special Friday evening during which some of the city’s most prestigious historical archives opened their doors to reveal hidden treasures and untold stories.
It was a unique opportunity for enthusiasts, who were welcomed free of charge (subject to availability) from 7 PM to 11 PM at the participating institutions, to explore historical, artistic, cultural, and industrial heritage collections.
Following the great success of the first edition, once again it was the voices of renowned Italian writers that brought to life distant eras and lifestyles, weaving together images, faces, sounds, and objects preserved in the archives—like pages from a sweeping historical novel. A collective narrative that revived places steeped in history through the emotional power of memory and the cultural and creative potential evoked by each archival collection.
The event served as a shared testimony of how a city’s present is inevitably nourished by its past, preserved in its archives—but also how that past can actively contribute to redefining its future by valuing its cultural identity and the unique traits of its territory.
Among the guests of the 2017 Night:
Davide Boosta Dileo Michela Murgia Luca Mercalli Silvia Rosa Brusin Paolo Di Paolo Irene Dionisio
2016 – The Night of the Archives
The first chapter of a shared story
On Friday, September 16, 2016, from 7 PM to 11 PM, Turin’s archives took center stage in a night dedicated to discovering the historical, artistic, cultural, and industrial heritage preserved by public institutions and private companies in the city. The idea responded to the need to shed light on a constellation of places rich in unexplored treasures, creating a path of promotion and engagement that would offer citizens a map of Turin’s archival landscape—along with the chance to explore it through a compelling journey.
The Night of the Archives, conceived by Promemoria and organized by the cultural association Archivissima, was held under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. A group of writers was tasked with telling fragments of the city’s archival heritage, guiding the public through collections of images, films, documents, sketches, and prints conserved by various participating institutions.
This night-event marked the first chapter in a shared retelling of Turin’s history—reinterpreted from new and diverse perspectives—capable of enriching collective memory by evoking eras, lifestyles, emotions, curiosities, and passions.
On September 16, 2016, The Night of the Archives also served as a preview to the European Heritage Days, held on September 17 and 18. The initiative was free and open to all.
Among the guests of the 2016 Night:
Marco Missiroli Michela Murgia Giuseppe Culicchia Valentina Diana Piergiorgio Odifreddi Davide Longo