The Maccarese farm archive

public opening
, from
Maccarese, Castello di San Giorgio

Azienda Agricola Maccarese, one of the largest Italian enterprises in the sector, inaugurates the premises of its historical archive, in the recently restored Castello di San Giorgio.

The history of the farm is closely connected with some major topics of Italian twentieth century history – land reclamation and internal migration, agricultural production and livestock management techniques and policies, the labour struggles after World War II. It is connected just as closely with the community that grew around it, at a dizzying pace sometimes – going from less than a hundred inhabitants in the late nineteenth century to almost five thousand at the end of the thirties of the twentieth century.

The farm’s archive – which since 2014 has undergone restoration and appreciation within a project promoted by Società Maccarese in cooperation with Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche – includes about five hundred linear metres of documents, journals and folders, tens of thousands of papers, notes, financial statements and articles of association, minutes of meetings, photos, technical drawings and floor plans, accounting and production ledgers, project documents, letters exchanged with entities and public bodies, personnel books and files.

The event seeks to offer an opportunity to present the restoration of cultural and identity heritage – for the company as well as for the community – now available for research and open to the wider public.

The day will start with a public meeting at 10:30, with a contribution by Paolo Conti, journalist of the «Corriere della Sera» newspaper, on the importance and momentousness of opening an archive. After that, Silvio Salera, Managing Director of Maccarese Spa Società Agricola, and Marco Tamaro, director of Fondazione Benetton, will talk on the project. The morning will end with a visit to the archive.

In the afternoon, at 2:30, there will be a workshop, by invitation and registration, with the aim of analysing the progress of the project and collect ideas and suggestions for possible use and appreciation of the archive, in connection with public bodies and the region.

Official representatives of the Fiumicino Municipality and of other regional bodies, as well as of the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture will also take part in the works.