Libraries and archives of the anarchist movement in Italy

Abstract

Engaged in the struggle for radical social transformation, Italian anarchists paid little attention to preserving their own past. In general, the tools they created for propaganda and the dissemination of ideas — pamphlets, booklets, newspapers, books— were used fleetingly and were not carefully stored nor protected. Only from the 1960s onward did some groups, organizations, and individual activists begin to establish various cultural institutions with the express desire to save the extensive documentation produced and to build their own historical memory. In this context, this paper will reconstruct the histories, collections, and plans of the main archives and libraries of the Italian anarchist movement. With this task, the aim is to condense and contribute to the extensive libertarian work of protecting their heritage.