The historical archives of the Municipality of Ampezzo: survey, appraisal and arrangement

Ampezzo is a municipality in Carnia, in the province of Udine, comprising the hamlets of Oltris, Voltois and Cima Corso. In spring 2024, the municipal administration initiated an archival processing project to organise and document its historical records, making them accessible for research and supporting the day-to-day work of municipal offices.

The archives comprise records dating from before 1986 and contain approximately 3,060 storage units — including boxes, registers, binders, map rolls and boxes of loose files — as well as miscellaneous material. The main body of records, consisting of approximately 2,550 units and extending over 240 linear metres, is housed in the attic of the town hall. Further groups of records are held in a storage area on the lower floor and in municipal offices.

The records document many aspects of the community’s administrative and social history, including woodland management, public works and urban planning, public health and hygiene, accounting, the cadastre, electoral services and post-earthquake reconstruction following the 1976 earthquake. The municipal fonds is complemented by the archives of affiliated institutions, including the Municipal Assistance Board (Ente comunale di assistenza), the School Patronage Board (Patronato scolastico), the Ampezzo Social Dairy (Latteria sociale di Ampezzo) and the Mountain Basin Consortium (Bacino imbrifero montano).

Prior to the project, the archives had never undergone systematic arrangement. Pencil and chalk numbering still visible on the units bears witness to earlier attempts to organise individual series. Most of the records could be traced to the 1897 classification scheme organised by categories, known as the Astengo Circular, while the older documents reflected earlier systems of classification by subject headings.

Grana Fina’s work began with a survey of the records, which were dispersed across several rooms in the municipal building. The units were assigned provisional reference numbers and surveyed at file level using a structured descriptive template. At the same time, the work included surface cleaning to remove dust, rehousing loose files and isolating units affected by mould. The survey provided the basis for a proposed disposal schedule, submitted to the municipal offices and subsequently to the Archival and Bibliographic Superintendency of Friuli Venezia Giulia for authorisation. Following approval, the series were reconstituted, the units physically rearranged and the final reference labels applied.

The project concluded with the preparation of an inventory of the historical archives in PDF format, an interactive list to support the work of municipal offices, and an archival description of the fonds in the Archimista software.