Ricerc@Sapienza

The aim of the project is to facilitate the enhancement of the archival heritage of the performing arts system in Rome between
the Fascist era and the early 21st century through the creation of specific research tools, both analogue and digital, while
delineating and elucidating the networks of political, cultural, economic, and social threads that, from the Ente Teatrale Italiano
(ETI), entwined around the role of the State in the governance and organization of the national culture.
In order to reconstruct this complex network of relationships and make it intelligible, it is necessary to develop new editorial
models for research tools that integrate archival work with the specific requirements of theatrical historiography. To achieve
this, it is essential to examine the archives of the ETI, as well as those of significant private theatres in Rome and prominent
figures in the performing arts. In addition to traditional analog documentation, these archives contain a plethora of other documentary types and media, including photographs, prints, sketches, and audiovisual materials.
Upon completion of the project, the developed models must address the specific characteristics of these archives and the
potential information pathways, both analog and digital, that could facilitate the accessibility of approximately a century's worth
of performing arts in Rome to a diverse audience.
In addition to these initial interventions, an excursion will be made into the preservation of documentary materials on theatre in
the medieval age, with a particular focus on devotional theatre, which can be found in several Roman libraries. This will enable
the development of a narrative on live performance which will reveal the connections between different historical periods and
cultural and social legacies, through a sort of space-time continuum reaching up to the 2000s.