Lodi, Historical Archives closes. Current location puts valuable ancient documents at risk

“Citizens are hereby informed that, pursuant to Mayor’s Decree no. 9 of April 10, 2019, the Historical Archives will be closed to the public starting Monday, April 15, 2019 and until a date to be determined.” a brief notice on the website of the Municipality of Lodi to inform citizens about the closure of theMunicipal Historical Archives, the center that preserves the documentation produced in the city over the centuries (there are also ancient documents, such as notarial acts from the 14th century and medieval manuscript documents, valuable more recent, such as the drafts and letters of Ada Negri, a great poetess of the early 20th century who was born in Lodi, and entire collections such as the Archives of the Ospedale Maggiore from the 12th century to 1964, all the volumes of Napoleonic edicts, all the records of the city council from 1490 to 1778) and is concerned with its preservation and enhancement (the latter through meetings, exhibitions, book presentations, guided tours, and educational activities).

The premises in Via Fissiraga, which the Archives has occupied since 1987, is no longer considered suitable to house it: according to the municipal technical office, there are several critical issues, starting with the risk of infiltration that could threaten the ancient documents, passing through the non-compliant electrical system, the fire prevention system also not up to standard, the defective emergency exits, and the faulty freight elevator. For these reasons, the closure was opted for, and a decision on the move is to be made soon. In the meantime, the closure to the public is total: citizens and scholars will not be able to consult the documents or go to the reading room. And scholars have already voiced their dissent, especially over the fact that the closure was decided without a long-established plan of action behind it.

But that’s not all: the volunteers who serve in the Archives are also protesting. Vincenzo Dossena, president of the ArchiviAmo Association, which collaborates with the Lodi City Council and the Library, said in an op-ed in the newspaper Il Giorno that “the City Council talks about security problems, but almost no archives in Italy are up to standard, and so far, for other facilities they have acted in derogation: it took some courage.” According to Dossena, the Association had in fact proposed to continue to keep the Archives open, even providing two archivists, but the result was nothing, and on time came the announcement of the closure by the deputy mayor, Lorenzo Maggi. All the worse for the fact that, Dossena points out, the two archivists, Eleonora Gaboardi and Alice Ledronio, were in service, paid, thanks to a ten-thousand-euro project that was intended to “create a nursery of young archivists,” and following the closure of the Historical Archives the two graduates will continue to be paid but will not be able to do their work. The deputy mayor, who is part of a League-led majority, points the finger at his predecessors, who he says created the situation of neglect. Dossena, however, retorts by saying that so far, however, work had been allowed to be done on an exception basis.

And certainly, if the situation is as serious as it seems, there was perhaps a need to think of a timely plan of action, so that it would not lead to indefinite closure.

Pictured: a room at the Lodi Historical Archives.

Lodi, Historical Archives closes. Current location puts valuable ancient documents at risk

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