A vibrant collection of filmed memories that tells the story of the deep bond between Italians and the mountain landscape. A bond that evolves throughout the twentieth century, as technological innovations and mass tourism begin to open up the peaks to an ever-growing number of people. Once remote and silent, the mountains become shared spaces—places of leisure, adventure, and everyday life. Through more than 500 amateur film clips, this series guides us through a quiet yet radical revolution that reshapes the way people live and perceive high altitudes: equipment, clothing, and techniques all evolve. From hiking to the most demanding climbs, and even official competitions, sport becomes one of the key expressions of this new relationship with the mountains. But the mountain is also something more. It is work in the fields and forests, village festivals, inherited customs, and relationships built over time. It is a place of belonging, memory, and community. Under the gaze of amateur filmmakers, we witness the mountain itself, changing with the seasons, becoming a fragile “sensor” of global ecological transformations. This selection spans the entire Italian peninsula, revealing lesser-known regions—from the Apennine ranges to the island highlands, all the way to active volcanoes—forming a vast collective fresco where memory, nature, and culture are deeply intertwined. A story of belonging and discovery, speaking to the heart of those who have lived and crossed these mountains—and of those who are rediscovering them today.

A visual journey centered around one of the most frequently filmed and represented themes in amateur cinema and home movies: food. Many activities revolve around it, from labor to social rituals, all captured by the amateur camera, which often acts as both creator and accomplice of these representations, but even more so as a witness. Alongside the large tables of gathered family groups, we see the transformations of the agri-food chain: from production to distribution, from sales to preparation to consumption. This is a collective narrative, drawn from private archives, that spans decades and traverses the spaces and places that have shaped the history of our country and the daily lives of its citizens: fields, factories, markets, shops, trattorias, homes with their kitchens, and festive meals. In the images of private cinema, the authentic and profound relationship that Italians have with food emerges with extraordinary clarity: a story of shared values, knowledge, and approaches historically and collectively built.

An itinerary dedicated to the private film images of Southern Italy and the gaze of the people who lived in those places. The research and selection of film excerpts were made from around ninety amateur Home Movies collections, representative of Southern Italy and Sicily. These images, shot on amateur films shot between 1930 and 1990, compose a multifaceted visual portrait of the landscape and its people. Visions that include urban and suburban landscapes of large cities and smaller towns, places symbolic of an ancient past, volcanoes, natural parks, beaches and coastlines, moments of family life (journeys, lunches, excursions, outings, games), rituals and myths linked to religiosity and collective life. The gazes are of those who live those places on a daily basis but also of those who have emigrated far away and return to their homeland.

A tour of the “Beautiful Country” in the images of the Italians who filmed its landscapes, cities and hamlets for posterity. Every single clip contains a micro-history and at the same time it becomes the single tile of a virtually infinite and to be freely assembled mosaic of stories. Happy surfing!

A journey in the Italian classroom to observe the changes and experiments that took place in Italian schools during the 20th century from a privileged point of view, that of teachers and children. From the lessons of Gianni Rodari to those of Loris Malaguzzi and the experiments in democratic and community education, from animated films and Super8 made by children. Class trips, snacks all together, carnivals: small great stories in which to recognize oneself.

A look at Italian cities, filmed by their inhabitants, but also by visitors, between the 1920s and 1970s. The amazement of discovering them fragmented into multiple points of view on the streets, squares, gardens, markets, suburbs, canals, ports, stadiums, and of capturing the pulse of urban life in continuous transformation.

A tour of the “Beautiful Country” in the images of the Italians who filmed its landscapes, cities and hamlets for posterity. Every single clip contains a micro-history and at the same time it becomes the single tile of a virtually infinite and to be freely assembled mosaic of stories. Happy surfing!

A journey through time and space, from the Apennines to the River Po, from cities to plains to the sea. Every single clip contains a micro-story and at the same time it becomes the single tile of a virtually infinite and to be freely assembled mosaic of stories. Happy surfing!

Franco Cigarini (1924-1982) used different means of expressions, during his life, from still photography to the moving image, from poetry to sculpture. Hired as a photographer by the Reggio Emilia Municipality in 1965, Franco Cigarini soon coupled the photo-camera to a movie-camera, becoming the first “official cameraman” of the city for about two decades. Franco Cigarini’s audiovisual archive offers a remarkable contribution to the 20th Century visual memory, not only locally, and his works, as an independent filmmaker, witness his civil and political involvement.