E&M meets with the team behind Scatola Cultura, literally translated Culture Box, an exciting new cultural and social project in Italy that through its activities gets people excited about local culture, history, whilst reflecting on the social issues prevalent in these spheres – such as diversity and inclusivity.
E&M: Hi there! Thank you for speaking with E&M about your amazing project – Scatola Cultura. First of all can I ask you if you can all introduce yourselves – who’s behind Scatola Cultura?
Hello everyone! Of course, here are the people who make Scatola Cultura great.
Valentina Carpanese is the president, and she graduated in Cultural Heritage with a specialization in Art History and a lover of communication on all levels.
Cinzia Rossato is the vice-president, she graduated in Planning and Management of Cultural Tourism and is passionate about the prehistoric age.
Alice Baruffato is a partner, she graduated in Medieval Archaeology and has a strong interest and flair for foreign languages.
Elisabetta Cocco is also a partner, and she graduated in Classical Archeology, cultural operator and actress.
Maurizio Bertacco is a volunteer partner and dedicates time to drawing attention and interest to local history.
E&M: So, what is the project actually about? What kind of activities do you do?
We are a brand new cooperative, operating between the cultural and the social fields. Right now we are working particularly in the Veneto and Vicenza regions. Our activities include museum education, training in the archaeological-historical-artistic field, guided tours, managing sites of historical and artistic interest, and cultural and social events, all gathered in the project ‘Inclusivity and Accessibility’. In short, we are a box…full of ideas!
E&M: What prompted you to create a project like this? How did the idea of the project and the name come about?
Veneto has a great cultural, naturalistic and historical-archaeological heritage. The desire to promote and enhance the value of this heritage led us to think up and devise new projects in order to make it accessible to everyone. Thus, in 2011, Scatola Cultura was born as a team of three professionals who together planned a tourism enhancement proposal for a Venetian villa, Villa da Porto (in Montorso Vicentino), through the creation of an accessible multi-sensory labyrinth. The project won the “Venetian Villas for Europe” award in 2012. Then in 2016 the team was enriched by the addition of more members, and from then the Scatola Cultura cooperative was born!
The name took inspiration from the idea that a box can be container of ideas, ideas that can come out of the box, and can just as easily enter the box! And the term culture indicates our preferred area of action.
Promoting the knowledge of our past and of our historical heritage allows us to be more aware and participating citizens.
E&M: What are the challenges facing Scatola Cultura in Italy today, and for similar projects across Europe?
The main difficulties are, unfortunately, dictated by a chronic lack of funds allocated for cultural projects, in particular in Italy. We mainly work with Italian public institutions, at various levels, and we note a general lack of investments in the field of cultural heritage.
E&M: Despite these challenges, yours is a very important project. In your opinion, how come other European countries should start similar projects?
Promoting the knowledge of our past and of our historical heritage allows us to be more aware and participating citizens. We are sure that, despite the difficulties of the sector, in Italy as in other European countries there are colleagues who have accepted this challenge and made this mission their own!
E&M: What events are you organising at the moment? And do you have other things you want to share with E&M reader?
At the moment we are engaged in schools with various educational activities covering a wide varieties of themes such as nature and history-archaeology. Since Scatola Cultura’s foundation we have worked at the Franciscan Museum “Padre Aurelio Menin” in Chiampo (Vicenza) where we are taking care of both the collections and promotional events. Here, in particular we are taking care of the project “We open the doors to everyone. Inclusion and Accessibility” intended for the re-organisation of the Museum making it accessible to various audiences with different needs.
We also want to share with you all the upcoming opening season of two very important sites, in which we are also involved with our cultural events:
– Villa Pojana, in Pojana Maggiore (Vicenza), Palladian villa belonging to the UNESCO list
– Vicenza Stone Museum, in Zovencedo (Vicenza), a museum housed in a former quarry of the famous Vicenza Stone, also used by the famous Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio
All you have to do is plan a vacation in our “Bella Italia” and come and visit them! Scatola Cultura is waiting for you!
Find out more about the project on its website here, and by following it on Facebook here.
Cover photo courtesy of Scatola Cultura
