A summary report of a two-day workshop at the Archivio di Stato of Bologna (May 12-13)
On May 12th and 13th, the Archivio di Stato of Bologna (ASBo) hosted a two-day workshop as part of the Archival City Project. The event focused on the presentation of the Camera Actorum project and ongoing research on Bologna’s medieval history, utilizing the extensive archival collections of the Archivio di Stato.
Massimo Giansante, former director of the Archivio di Stato, opened the first day, tracing the richness of the archive for historians of the Middle Ages and the communal period, while also highlighting the many difficulties the archive has faced in recent times (including staffing issues and managing the Covid emergency).
Giuliano Milani then provided an overview of the broader Archival City project, which encompasses six study fields. Following this introduction, Vincent Lemire and Maria Chiara Rioli delved into the genesis of Archival City (Open Jerusalem) and showcased the 3D reconstruction of Jerusalem’s Maghrebi Quarter—an essential component of the Jerusalem team’s research objects. Their presentation aimed to uncover the forgotten history of this quarter, particularly after the events of 1967. They emphasized that the 3D reconstruction serves as both a research tool and a means of engaging the public (public history). The reconstruction allows viewers to explore various perspectives, including a top-down view, a street-level view, and a static view of specific buildings relevant for their social and cultural role in the quarter.
The panel concluded with a stimulating discussion addressing critical topics such as mobilized sources, the utilization of oral history, and the sensitivity of the Jerusalem study-field.
After the break, Armano Antonelli and Giuliano Milani presented the Camera Actorum project, which aims to reconstruct the appearance of the medieval archives of Bologna. Throughout history, destruction, catastrophes, purges, and rearrangements have altered these archives. The speakers explained that unlike virtual reconstructions of libraries, there have been no reconstructions of archives. The Camera Actorum, being the first example of a virtual reconstruction of the medieval archive of Bologna, is well-suited for this type of reconstruction due to the archive’s long lifespan and the existence of old inventories of the Camera actorum, the ancient archive. The project followed the methodologies and categories found in the inventories of that time. Armando Antonelli emphasized the importance of considering the definition of archives during that period as the initial step in the reconstruction process. This definition is connected to an ancient archival practice, which has to be taken into account, according to Antonelli, in order to come as close as possible to the “mental projections and representations of those who worked in archives”. For example, the concept of “archival series” was not present, replaced to the topographical notion of “capsa,” the material container in which were kept the documents related to the same judges. This approach was used in the virtual reconstruction, made possible through the collaboration of the Archival City Bologna team, Carole Lamoureux, and the Limonade Agency.
Giuliano Milani proceeded to present the reconstruction itself, showing how to navigate the website, explore the 54 capse of the Armarium Populi, one of the components of the ancient Archive, and perform keyword-based and interactive searches. He explained that the virtual reconstruction is a way to represent the inventory’s elements. Clicking on the tabs opens a page with an image of a cover (coperta) where the shelf mark is located. On the right side of the document, three tabs are visible: 1) description (shelf mark, ancient shelf mark); 2) history of the document (the responsible individuals involved in the procedure, the document’s custodian, the notary, etc.); and 3) codicology.
Within these tabs, one can click on names to open corresponding tabs and gain insight into the individuals involved or click on “curia” to understand who worked in the curia. G. Milani concluded by highlighting that the virtual reconstruction adheres to the archival logic of that time. A final round table discussion, attended by Andrea Giorgi (UNITN), Antonella Ghignoli (UNISapienza), Massimo Vallerani (UNITo) and Isabella Lazzarini (UNIMOL), delved into methodological aspects of the Camera Actorum project and proposed new research avenues, such as diachronic approaches.
In the afternoon session, a series of presentations unveiled the diverse and extensive research conducted on Medieval Bologna. Marco Conti (Université de Bordeaux) elucidated three recent projects aimed at enriching the understanding of accounting sources in Bologna. The first project focused on the edition of the Liber Introituum of 1347, which aimed to analyse the impact of the Black Death on urban taxation in Bologna. The second project involved the critical edition of the Liber Expensarum of 1288 (in collaboration with A. Antonelli), one of the oldest accounting registers in municipal Italy and a valuable resource for studying Bolognese society. The third project, ÆCUM (Archives Et Comptabilités Urbaines Médiévales), aimed to edit and enhance two series of the Archives départementales of Dordogne, comparing these sources with other urban accounting records, including those from Bologna.
Silvia Della Manna (UNIBo) provided an overview of the diverse subject matter contained in the Memorials of the Municipality of Bologna (1265-1452) by presenting a selection of recorded acts from a week in June 1285. This collection of 322 volumes, meticulously compiled by the notaries’ office documented transactions exceeding the value of 20 lire of bolognini between private individuals. The series provides a granular daily insight into the declarations made by both Bolognese residents and foreigners who came to Bologna to conclude their contracts.
Clément Carnielli (ENS, Paris) shed light on the tax system’s structures and developments in 14th-century Bologna. After providing a comprehensive overview of direct and indirect taxes, the speaker emphasized the substantial disparities in tax burdens across different social categories. The presentation also explored the evolution of taxation and its relationship with the multitude of regime changes experienced by Bologna during that period. By examining two illustrative examples, namely the taxation on mills and the liberatio fumantum, the speaker revealed the interconnected nature of documentary practices, fiscal strategies, and power dynamics. The analysis highlighted how estimi (tax assessments) perpetuated inequalities and functioned as tools for social control.
Overall, these presentations contributed to the scientific dissemination of research on Medieval Bologna, offering valuable insights into accounting sources, historical documentation, and the dynamics of taxation during that era.
Filippo Ribani (UNIBO) delivered a presentation focusing on citizenship in the Bolognese countryside, particularly in the second half of the 14th century. Through an examination of tax documentation and municipal council reforms, he demonstrated that the “cives malenutriti” (citizens living in the rural areas) constituted a significant category, accounting for approximately 20% of the cives population not at all marginal from an economic point of view, who also successfully approached the city government to renegotiate or defend their tax privileges from the peasant communities who sought to erode them to their advantage.
Chloé Tardivel‘s (EFR) presentation explored the use of judicial records (ASBo, Curia del podestà, Giudici ad maleficia) as a source for studying medieval linguistic practices. She showcased how the inquisitorial and accusatory registers, comprising around 500 trials, provide insights into typical speech patterns of the time (including stereotyped and plausible speech) and non-verbal communication (gestures, tone, etc.). Regarding her research methodology, she highlighted the use of the Tropy software for a textual approach rooted in linguistic anthropology. Furthermore, she emphasized the significance of accompanying papers in investigating notarial transcription practices in relation to the recording of words, enabling a social history perspective on the archive.
Michele Piciocco (UNIFI)’s presentation delved into the interplay between archival documents and history of ancient Italian poetry, highlighting the relevance of the Bologna Archive due to the centrality of the municipality during that time. Through the analysis of two documents, (an unpublished document, produced in Bologna and currently held in the State Archives in Florence, and another known and published document), the speaker made general observations regarding the development of poetic language in the 13th and 14th centuries. This exploration underscored the value of individual archival funds, such as the Memorials, in understanding the cultural and historical landscape of the time.
The first day ended with a highly stimulating visit to the Archivio di Stato, led by Massimo Giansante.
On Saturday the 13th, the presentations revolved around other reproduction and digitation projects related with the archival collections held in the Archivio di Stato or led in collaboration with the institution.
To provide a broader historical perspective for the day, Massimo Giansante presented the experience and projects of Giorgio Cencetti (1908-1970), a palaeographer, archivist, historian, and director of the ASBo in the first half of the 20th century. Cencetti, in his research on significant serial sources like the Bolognese Memorials, and in his role as archivist and director of the Archives, advocated for the microfilming project of Italy’s national artistic heritage. Around 1960, he recognized the potential of information technology in democratizing access to documentary sources. Giansante highlighted Cencetti’s visionary outlook, the ambitions of the microfilming project (which aimed to lift Italy out of the abyss of fascism and war), and the criticisms it faced.
Francesca Delneri (ASBO) focused her presentation on the photo-reproduction laboratory of the State Archives of Bologna since the 1950s. She illustrated how the reproduction laboratory has generated copies through microfilming to meet user needs, including massive copying of entire collections as substitutes for the originals. Currently, the laboratory produces digital reproductions to minimize handling of the original documents and ensure their use, including remote access through a campaign launched during the lockdown period. In recent years, the laboratory has primarily coordinated interventions carried out by external professionals, such as reproducing Public Prosecution and Court of Assizes documents related to the events of the ‘Uno Bianca’ gang, as well as audiovisual recordings stored on magnetic media accompanying the files of massacre trials held by the Court of Assizes of Bologna.
Giulia Cò and Edward Loss (UNIBO) focused on the two lines of research promoted by the project “MemoBo: a mare magnum of possibilities: the Bolognese Memorials and their filing (1265-1452)”, giving particular attention to the tools of the Digital Humanities used in its development. After an introduction dedicated to the presentation of the documentary typology of the Memorials – a series of notarial acts produced from 1265 to 1452 and registered at the Office of Memorials, with the aim of avoiding fraud and forgery – the presentation was devoted to the description of the database platform in X-Dams. The second part of the presentation focused on the experimentation with Artificial Intelligence performed on the series with the Transkribus software, presenting three methodological approaches applied so far and the potential of the combination of automatic transcription and the source.
Giuseppina Brunetti, Nicola Chiarini, and Niccolò Gensini (UNIBO), part of the research group of Romance Philology at the FICLIT of the University Alma Mater Studiorum, presented two ongoing projects involving documents held at the ASBo. Firstly, they discussed the collaboration between EPM, ADLab and ASBo for the digitization of 14th-century fragments of the Arthurian novel in French prose, known as “Prophecies de Merlin,” which are preserved as blanket coverings of registers at the Archives. This project aims to study important witnesses to the circulation of French novels in medieval Italy through digital formats and updated descriptions. Secondly, the research team presented the discovery of autographs of Francesco da Barberino and other 13th-century poets and writers (notably Rambertino Buvalelli and Matteo dei Libri) at the Archives. They emphasized the significance of this new evidence for reconstructing 13th-century Italian literary history.
Rosa Smurra (UNIBO) presented the project “Fonti medievali in rete-Estimi bolognesi” that aims to digitally publish the Estimi, fiscal documentation from the late 13th century preserved as loose papers in the State Archives of Bologna. She highlighted the various phases of the project’s realization, the challenges encountered, and the opportunities offered through online access to this documentation. The Estimi consists of approximately ten thousand tax declarations made by citizens of Bologna in accordance with the provisions issued by the Municipality.
Mirco Santi (Home Movies) presented The National Family Film Archive (Home Movies), which was established twenty years ago in Bologna with the goal of preserving and transmitting private audiovisual heritage that was previously considered scattered. This includes films in reduced formats such as 16mm, 9.5mm, 8mm, and Super8, which were widely used between the 1920s and 1980s before the advent of analogue and digital video technology. Home Movies not only focuses on preservation and restoration but also enhances the preserved heritage through various projects, such as the Archivio Aperto festival, the Home Movies 100 project dedicated to the centenary of amateur film (2022-2023), and Memoryscapes – the private online cinema.
The last presentation discussed the digitization project of corporate archives conducted by the cooperative Kiné, which has been working in the field of audio-visual production and the recovery, digitization, and enhancement of private and institutional audio-visual archives for 15 years. Claudio Giapponesi presented specific case studies that involved not only digitization but also ways of promoting the archives through new audio-visual products, exhibitions, and multimedia materials.