Survey of Art and Archival Materials in Italian Institutions
The Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems conducts investigations on Japanese art materials and the historical documents that reveal their historical context. In October 2025, we carried out field research in Italy, visiting institutions in Rome and Florence to examine related materials.
In Rome’s EUR district, we visited the Museo delle Civiltà (Museum of Civilizations), which houses collections formerly belonging to the National Museum of Oriental Art and the Luigi Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography. At the museum’s Arti e Culture Asiatiche (Asian Arts and Cultures) department, we met with Dr. Pierfrancesco Fedi to conduct object-based research and consult on the museum’s holdings. Our discussion included valuable exchanges of information concerning the Giuseppe Tucci Collection—the foundation of the museum’s Asian holdings—and the Pigorini Collection, which incorporates works from the collection of Vincenzo Ragusa and KIYOHARA Tama.
We also visited the Archivio Storico della Camera dei Deputati (Historical Archives of the Italian Chamber of Deputies), located in Rome’s Rione Pigna district, and met with the Director, Paolo Massa. During the meeting, we were able to confirm the existence and location of primary sources related to cultural exchanges and artistic diplomacy between Japan and Italy during the Mussolini regime. These documents are invaluable records that illuminate the realities of cultural administration within Italo-Japanese diplomatic relations and offer crucial evidence for understanding the intersection between cultural policy and political intent in that period.
The Historical Archives of the Chamber of Deputies was established in 1848 during the Kingdom of Sardinia to support parliamentary activity. After moving to the Palazzo Montecitorio in 1865, the archives served as the intellectual foundation of the legislature for more than a century. The archives were opened to the public in 1988, and in 2007 the Polo Bibliotecario Parlamentare (Parliamentary Library Center) was established to coordinate services with the Senate Library. The documentary heritage of the Chamber of Deputies comprises original records produced and acquired by the Chamber since 1848, as well as private papers related to parliamentary politics. Digitized inventories, photographic archives, and portions of digital collections can be accessed through the archive’s website (https://archivio.camera.it/).
In Florence, we visited the Fondazione Alinari per la Fotografia and met with its Director, Dr. Claudia Baroncini. The foundation inherits the legacy of the company Fratelli Alinari—Italy’s first photographic studio established in the nineteenth century—and is dedicated to the preservation of its photographic heritage and the promotion of a culture of photography. The foundation is currently preparing to open a museum and makes its holdings accessible online. Many photographs donated to TOBUNKEN in 2023 by the family of MORIOKA Ryūzō were produced by Fratelli Alinari, and the art-historical photographs collected by YASHIRO Yukio are also known to be linked with a photographer who belonged to the studio. During our meeting, we introduced TOBUNKEN’s photographic archives and ongoing research activities, and exchanged information concerning potential collaboration.
[On Materials of MORIOKA Ryuzo https://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/ekatudo/2059906.html] .
Through this trip, we gained a renewed appreciation for the Italian understanding of archives not merely as repositories of documents, but as “sacred spaces for the preservation of memory.” This perspective is essential for treating cultural properties as a form of shared knowledge and offered us valuable insight into the relationship between the sharing and responsibility of knowledge within cultural heritage research.