Archive
The Archives
“...Perched at the top of the tower in his stadely home at san Ciriaco, his admirable library was a heaven of peace and meditation, his buon retiro, which thus became the place where this friendship was given material form: well researched, well-written books, tastefully presented, object for which he felt a lively enthusiasm.
In the library, where conversation naturally turned towards serious subjects, and silence became a natural way to communicate thoughts, the atmosphere was marked with grandeur and austerity, just like its owner.”
R. Lemaire (President of Icomos), speech delivered on the occasion of Sixth General Assembly in Rome in 1981
In accordance with article 15 of legislative decree n. 42/2004, Piero Gazzola’s archives were declared to be of particularly important historical significance by the Soprintendenza Archivistica del Veneto: a measure put into act by the Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici del Veneto (Regional Directorate of Cultural and Landscape Heritage of the Veneto region) of 15/12/2010, protocol number 0021862.
In autumn of 2011, with the aid of ministerial funds and the Cariverona Foundation, the Associazione Archivio Piero Gazzola (AAPG), working together with the archivist Dr. Giulia Turrina, embarked on a project named “Archivio di Piero Gazzola: per una storia del restauro del Novecento. Catalogazione, riordino e valorizzazione” (The Archives of Piero Gazzola: A History of 20th Century Restoration. Cataloguing, Rearrangement, and Appreciation). The project drew to a close in June 2014 with the drafting of an inventory of his papers and a catalogue of photographs and drawings. Additionally, a project of the computerization of photographic prints is still in progress. These materials, thanks to Sorpintendenza archivistica del Veneto, are temporarily available here.
Written materials
The written material section contains documents of great interest both for their quality and sheer variety (official letters, documents, projects, research). These stand as a testament to Piero Gazzola’s complex professional and scientific work, as superintendent and scholar, active in the defence of historic city districts and landscapes, expert in the conservation of monuments for UNESCO, and later as promoter and Chairman of ICOMOS. The section consists of restoration projects and mission reports, articles and drafts, lessons and preparatory materials, as well as paperwork relating to posts taken within ICOMOS, IBI, CISA, the Council of Europe, ICCROM, and general correspondence.
Contents: 420 archive units (folders, registers, albums), containing 2269 files, adding up to a total of 39 linear metres (1882-1981).
Photographs
The photographs section contains images (prints and negatives) – taken between the 1930s and the 1970s – from Gazzola’s work both as Superintendent of Monuments and as architect and consultant. Some of these pictures are the last remaining proof of buildings or urban landscapes that no longer exist. The subjects include work assignments, buildings, historic urban and territorial settings that have been subject to interventions and restoration throughout the entire 20th century, chiefly in the areas of the Veneto and Lombardy regions under his authority as Superintendent, but also in European and international sites (Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran). It is a collection of images of works and monuments serving as tools for research and study.
Contents: around 14000 prints, of which 12100 have been catalogued, and 1350 computerized.
Designs
The designs section is comprised of reliefs of buildings and monument sites, and preparatory project designs. Much of the finalized graphic art is contained within the paperwork section together with technical reports and photographs. Around 960 items (hand-drawn designs, copies of designs, and maps) are sorted under the following groups: overseas ventures (Peru, Cyprus, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Egypt); assignments in the Veneto region (mostly Verona and its province); the Gazzola family (property, Giovanni Gazzola); architect training; castle architecture; Roman bridges; assignments in the Lombardy region; assignments in Italy.
