History, as we know, can be told in different ways, recovering its traces through quite diverse means: archive documents, images of landscapes, analytical texts, portraits of famous figures or ordinary people and much more. Putting all these elements into a powerful and flexible mediumsuch as the web portal was quite a challenge, for which the Università degli Studi di Milano, bound as it is to a long and demanding tradition of study and research in this field, is proud to have collaborated with IULM and Alinari in its implementation.

It is a project which in many respects is unique in the quantity and quality of material and with a clear point of reference: everyday life in all its aspects. The history of this country is, in this way, the history of the Italians, of their everyday life, their objects, their territory and therefore not so much, or not only, of the great events and famous characters.This is as it should be.

History, in fact, belongs to everyone, for everyone to know and appreciate in every way and in all its aspects because, as someone once said, those who do not know it are doomed to repeat it.

Enrico Decleva
Rector
Università degli Studi di Milano

This project is, for the Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione IULM (Free University of Languages and Communication) a source of pride and satisfaction not only because of its institutional purpose, within the context of the celebrations of the 150th Anniversary of the unification of Italy, but also because of the profound affinity with the vocation of our university, which merges notions of the humanities with the most advanced communication technologies.

Until recently, history was written and rewritten on the page, today the territory of the digital languages enables rewriting and therefore a shared, plural and developing memory. We are therefore very pleased to have contributed - together with distinguished partners - to this adventure in a time when the internet has become increasingly significant.

Professor Giovanni Puglisi
Rector
Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione IULM

Fratelli Alinari are proud to present, with the 15,000 extraordinary pictures on line, the history of our country, from the unification to the present day. Alinari, founded in 1852 in Florence, capital of the then Grand Duchy of Tuscany, prior to the constitution of the Kingdom, is the oldest photographic studio operating in the world and has represented over the past 150 years a point of reference in the history of Italy through its photographs and those of other photographic archives conserved by Alinari - from Wulz to Michetti, from Villani to Quilici and many others - which have been exhibited throughout the world, representing the history of our country, its people, its territory, its art, its cities, its economic and industrial activities and its culture. Thanks to prestigious partners like IULM and the Università degli Studi di Milano, the website intends to create a visual overview of this extraordinary archive of Italy available to all users, of all ages, also including didactic pathways that offer new and interesting approaches and research laboratories. I wish you a pleasant navigation.

Claudio de Polo
President
Fratelli Alinari. Fondazione per la Storia della Fotografia