After years of suspension, thanks to the impulse of the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, and of the Directorate General of Archives, work finally resumed on Monday 11 March on the Vanvitellian hemicycle, formerly Caserma Pollio, identified as the new headquarters of the State Archives of Caserta together with the spaces already assigned in the Royal Palace: this confirms the intention to consider the transfer of the archive deposits from via dei Bersaglieri to Pastorano as temporary, pending the completion of the works in the spaces designated in front of the Royal Palace.
The rooms reserved for the stables and quartering of the Bourbon troops will be repurposed to accommodate archive storage and offices, aiming to become a meeting place for the entire citizenry.
The works, which began with the completion of the facades, will soon allow the beauty of the building complex to be admired and will continue with the priority being the renovation of the basement, which will house the mechanical compactors for the physical archiving of documents. At the same time, we will proceed with the construction of the room intended to house the technological plants (hypogeum).
"The renovation of the State Archives of Caserta is part of the broader framework of the plan to enhance the Italian cultural heritage promoted by the Ministry. With this intervention we intend not only to protect and conserve a precious heritage for our history but also to make it more accessible and usable to the public to make it a place of study, research and cultural growth for the community of Caserta and for the entire nation. The State Archives of Caserta preserve a documentary heritage of considerable value, which includes deeds and documents of great importance for our history”, declared Minister Sangiuliano.
After the completion of the works in the Vanvitellian hemicycle in front of the Royal Palace, expected for April 2025, the State Archives of Caserta will have a surface area that will make it among the largest State Archives in Italy.
Furthermore, thanks to the 20 linear km of shelving envisaged by the project, the Institute will be able not only to accommodate its current assets but also to satisfy the space requirements for payments of the state offices of the city and province of Caserta. Together with the deposits currently being completed in the rooms assigned to the Archive inside the Palace, the future of the historical memory of the territory is thus being outlined.
Finally, as regards the internal spaces of the Palace complex intended for the Archive, important progress has been made: here too, the restoration and functional adaptation works stopped since 3 August 2023 (and already financed with 1.810.911 euros) will resume April to conclude next autumn, while the project for the fire prevention adaptation was awarded, the works of which will always be completed by next autumn.
"The Administration is making great efforts to quickly return these spaces to their original and primary cultural and educational function“, concluded the Director General of Archives, Antonio Tarasco.
Subscribe to our newsletter!