On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of MUSAS – Museo Storico Archeologico and the 50th anniversary of the Biblioteca Baldini in Santarcangelo di Romagna, the two institutions are collaborating on a joint project that will culminate in IMPRESSIONI. Tracce, segni, messaggi — a new and interactive exhibition unfolding across their exhibition spaces. The show will open in May and will be enhanced in the following months with meetings, workshops, and events.
The exhibition traces the evolution of writing—from the earliest marks made in antiquity to modern forms of recording memory—through Roman archaeological finds such as stamps on bricks from local kilns and writing tools for wax tablets, medieval inscriptions, commercial stamps and trademarks from the MET – Museo Etnografico Territoriale, and documents preserved in the archive of the Antonio Baldini Library, including parchments and 16th-century printed books. A dedicated section in the public library gallery will focus on registers, diaries, and school notebooks, which bear witness to everyday writing and the development of literacy.
Public Call for Exhibition Materials
The collaboration of the local community is essential for the creation of the exhibition setup: the two Fo.Cu.S. institutions are launching a public call addressed to the citizens of Santarcangelo di Romagna to collect materials related to 20th-century writing — specifically up to the 1990s. This includes school notebooks with exercises, stories or essays, personal or war diaries, registers, craft activity reports, and stamps. To complete the exhibition, objects such as pen nibs and inkwells, aprons, school satchels, and anything that represents a personal memory of school life in the past are also sought.
How does it work?
From Monday, April 14 until Saturday, June 14, collected objects can be delivered to the Biblioteca Baldini in Santarcangelo during opening hours:
- Monday and Tuesday: 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm
- Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
- Thursday: 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Anyone may choose to loan materials for the duration of the exhibition or make them available through digitalization. The agreement will be formalized via Fo.Cu.S. to guarantee mutual commitments.
Submitted objects will undergo selection and may be exhibited or digitized to form a temporary participatory archive.
Who is this call for?
The call is open to all citizens of Santarcangelo. Materials from residents of other municipalities may also be considered if they are especially relevant to the project.
This project is developed in collaboration with Società Operaia Mutuo Soccorso di Santarcangelo and the Museo dei Quaderni di Scuola in Milan.
