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DEPOSITI e PATRIMONI NETWORK

Twelve regional museums united together working on the management and enhancement of heritage in storage

DEPOSITI E PATRIMONI Network  is a purpose-driven network that brings together museum professionals who have taken part in RE-ORG training — a method developed by ICCROM for storage management and preventive conservation, supported since 2021 by the Emilia-Romagna Region – Cultural Heritage Sector.

The aim of the network is to connect professionals with expertise in storage management and to foster collaboration between the institutions they represent.

The network is open to new museums or cultural institutions that wish to join and share its goals.

Main objectives include:

  • training and mentoring,
  • sharing best practices in storage management and preventive conservation,
  • enhancing the value of stored collections.

How the network was born

Since 2021, the year of the first RE-ORG training session, the community of professionals has grown rapidly through the exchange of experiences, needs, and questions.

Networking made it possible to respond quickly to emergencies, such as the 2023 flood that affected several museums in the Romagna area. The RE-ORG community of professionals mobilized to provide concrete support with both human and material resources, demonstrating the power of collaboration.

In line with the principles of circular economy and sustainability, a donation program was launched to redistribute display cases no longer in use from one museum to other institutions within the network.

In October 2023, thanks to participation in the course "Cultivating a Network: Shared Futures for Museums", promoted by the Emilia-Romagna Region’s Cultural Heritage Sector, the process of formally establishing a regional museum network was initiated.

The network was officially established in June 2023 and selected by the Emilia-Romagna Region as a recipient of funding under Regional Law 18/2000 for the 2024–2025 biennium.

Our Goals

  • The network project aims to develop skills in the preventive conservation of stored heritage.
    For the 2024–2025 biennium, sustainable consumable materials for conservation will be purchased to reduce environmental impact.
    The network will identify common needs and produce a best practices manual on preventive conservation.

  • To improve storage management and share procedures, the participating museums plan to develop a model regulation for storage management, building on existing tools such as the RE-ORG Guidelines and the Minimalia drafted by the ICOM Italia working group Storage and Circularity.
    The network is also working on a handbook for risk assessment and the development of Emergency Plans for the protection of collections.

  • The training project includes, over the two-year period, dedicated meetings with experts and mentoring sessions, where more experienced professionals can support other network members in the planning, management, and conservation of storage areas.
    This will be carried out through one-to-one mentoring, group mentoring focused on the development of specific projects, and evaluation of storage-related initiatives.

  • The network promotes initiatives to enhance storage spaces and the heritage they contain.
    Depending on the specific characteristics of each location, coordinated public outreach initiatives will be organized to showcase the work carried out by individual institutions within the network.
    The goal is to foster greater public participation and cultural accessibility, while raising awareness about conservation and the often unseen work carried out “behind the scenes” in museums.

Participating Museums

  • Museo Civico di Modena (Lead Institution)

Supporters

ICCROM – ICOM ITALIA – Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Bologna and the provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Ferrara – Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena and Rimini.

Project carried out with the support of the Emilia-Romagna Region – Year 2024 (Regional Law 18/2000)

For information and contacts:
Silvia Pellegrini, Museo Civico di Modena: silvia.pellegrini@comune.modena.it
Giorgia Bonesso, Network Coordinator: giorgia.bonesso@gmail.com