The Archive

THE ARCHIVE

The Archive, as well as the Library of the Foundation, is located in the monastic complex of St. Claire, on the ground floor, accessible from Via Giovanni Demaria 10, Chieri.

Within its Archive, the Foundation preserves hundreds of textile samples, mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries. To these are added documents and photographs of historical relevance, especially as from local producers.

Then there are the collections of historical and artistic interest, in particular sketches, technical drawings,  and textile samples. The most relevant ensemble, including of hundreds of drawings, comes from the renowned Serra & Carli design studio.

Since its establishment in 1997, the Foundation has preserved, broadened, catalogued and made its collections more accessible. and made its collections usable, operating mainly thanks to Laura Davin and a team of volunteers, project collaborators and professionals, with the contribution pro bono  by VincenzoTedesco, head of the Historical Archive of the Municipality of Chieri. The Foundation's textile samples were partially cataloged in 2013 with Guarini software, which was later abandoned.

Since 2021, the direction of the Archive has been fulfilled by the President of the Foundation, Dr. Melanie Zefferino, who operates in an executive capacity and holds a diploma in Archiving, Palaeography and Diplomaty earned at the State Archives of Turin. Still in 2021, the Foundation was enlisted in the register of cultural institutions of relevance for the Regional Authorities of Piedmont, who allocated funding to support our institution for the 2021-2023 period.

In 2022, the cataloguing, reordering and definitive placement of the textile samples were entrusted to Acta Progetti srl, directed by Marinella Bianco. 

In the meantime, the Foundation has become a filing body authorized by the Superintendency for the historic-artistic assets of the city of Turin, and intends to proceed with cataloguing and digitising their own main gathering of drawings by Serra & Carli. This has been presented to a wider audience through a number of temporary exhibitions and events, two of which presented within the framework of the 'Archivissima' festival (2022 and 2023 editions)