With this project, we want to gather data that will help us to build the new catalogue of the IsIAO Photographic Archive, and to foster an informed, thoughtful discussion. Some images may be upsetting to individuals and communities directly or indirectly affected by the events depicted.
Con questo progetto vogliamo raccogliere informazioni utili per creare il nuovo catalogo dell’Archivio Fotografico IsIAO e favorire una riflessione aperta e consapevole. Alcune immagini potrebbero risultare difficili o dolorose per persone o comunità coinvolte, direttamente o indirettamente, negli eventi rappresentati.
This project has been built using the Zooniverse Project Builder but is not yet an official Zooniverse project. Queries and issues relating to this project directed at the Zooniverse Team may not receive any response.
Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Help us to describe the images of Italian colonialism preserved in the IsIAO Photographic Archive.
Learn moreChoose one of the following groups of images, observe the photographs, and answer the questions!
In this project, you can dive into two different photo groups (workflows) both regarding the Eritrea.
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The Italian Trusteeship of Somalia (AFIS): here you can contribute by telling us more about the places, people, and buildings pictured, or by adding your own descriptions.
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Eritrean schools, transcriptions: in this workflow, you can help us by transcribing the words and numbers found on the back of the photos, and sometimes even on the front.
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Sports and Leisure in Libya: the photographs displayed in this workflow traces the management, occupation, and representation of the body in the Libyan colony during leisure activities. It includes images of the architectural environment and the sports facilities where bodies move, as well as photographs of athletes captured in action and depicted as powerful figures reshaped by fascism.
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Help us to better understand this legacy, find the words to describe it, and "return" it in a form that, if not entirely "correct," is at least conscious.
Photographic Collections of Italian Colonialism (1861–1960)About Photographic Collections of Italian Colonialism (1861–1960)
The “IsIAO Photo Library” is located within the “IsIAO Library,” in the African and Oriental Collections Room of the National Central Library in Rome. It houses the largest collection of photographs related to Italian colonialism, having inherited the material from the Museum of the Colonies in Rome—a propaganda institution that was part of the Ministry of the Colonies at the time—as well as from various colonial institutions that existed throughout the 20th century.
A photograph does not speak for itself, especially if it has a contested and controversial past. It is not always and/or solely an irrefutable archival document. It is not merely “cold” proof of reality. Most of the colonial images preserved in the IsIAO photo library are complex objects that have changed form several times over the course of their long institutional life. They can trigger memories, produce new analyses, generate discoveries, and (re)connect ideas, people, and events. These photographs were collected by colonial entities, organized, and classified into categories serving colonial propaganda, to the extent that the (rare) captions accompanying them are often racist, offensive, and misleading.
The project launched today on Zooniverse makes the IsIAO’s photographic collections accessible to a wider audience, inviting people to participate in describing the images in a more equitable and inclusive way. But our goal goes beyond simple description: we also aim to collect essential data on people, places, and events, while creating a space for critical engagement with this documentation.
Produced with the educational support of the Dicolab. Cultura al Digitale project, promoted by the Ministry of Culture – Digital Library as part of the PNRR Cultura 4.0 program, implemented by the National School of Cultural Heritage and Activities, and funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU.