Mi leggo la storia - I read history - Italy

The understanding and appreciation of the rich cultural heritage by individuals with different linguistic and cognitive challenges is an essential but challenging goal. With this in mind, the Regional Directorate of the Museums of Lombardy (Ministry of Culture), under the leadership of Emanuela Daffra, launched the innovative project ‘Mi Leggo la Storia’ (I read history), in scientific collaboration with the Associazione Storia Buffa ETS, the support of the Lions Club ‘Le Mura’ of Bergamo and the patronage of the Municipality of Bergamo.

The core of the project are short narratives elaborated following the principles of Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC), an approach that aims at enhancing verbal language through specific strategies and techniques.

These narratives, presented in the form of freely accessible PDF files, promote access to the cultural heritage of the territories of Bergamo and Brescia.

In clearly comprehensible language, the project presents eight places of cultural and historical significance, mainly outdoors, including two UNESCO sites. For the city of Bergamo, the places examined include the Campanone, the Contarini Fountain, the Walls, Porta San Giacomo, Lorenzo Lotto's altarpiece in San Bartolomeo, the Meridiana, Francesco Jerace's Monument to Gaetano Donizetti and Giacomo Manzù's Monument to the Partisan. In the Brescia area, on the other hand, the focus is on the Parco Nazionale delle Incisioni Rupestri di Naquane (National Park of Rock Engravings) in Capo di Ponte, one of the parks and museums managed by the Direzione Regionale Musei Lombardia.

Founded in 1955, this park was the first Italian archaeological park and the first Italian site to be recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Here are preserved 104 rocks with some of the most famous rock engravings in the Camonica Valley. For the ‘Mi Leggo la Storia’ project, eight engravings were selected, found on rocks 1, 23, 32, 35, 50 and 99.

The project specifically targets people with communication, language and cognitive difficulties and includes a training programme for teachers, educators and experts in both Bergamo and Capo di Ponte.

The detailed and easily comprehensible descriptions of the places were written by the Regional Directorate of the Museums of Lombardy, while the Associazione Storia Buffa is responsible for the translation into symbols, following the principles of the Inbook model of CAA. All the texts are accessible on the ‘Visit Bergamo’ website, on the portal of the Regional Directorate of Lombardy Museums and on the website of the Storia Buffa ETS Association, thus widening accessibility to sites and works in line with the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Faro Convention. The latter, in fact, reaffirms the fundamental right of all individuals to actively participate in the cultural life of the community, enjoying the arts and benefiting from them.

More about Mi leggo la storia. 

Press release.  

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