GLAM/Newsletter/September 2025/Contents/Italy report
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Hidden heritage unveiled: science, history and nature on Wikimedia
Edit-a-thon at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci
On October 1st, Wikimedia Italia and the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan held an edit-a-thon focused on cultural heritage conservation, as part of their ongoing collaboration for the enrichment of Wikimedia projects and OpenStreetMap.
The event opened with a guided tour through some of the museum’s less accessible collections, which became the subject of new documentation. Participants worked on specialist content related to conservation, but also on hidden treasures from the museum’s storerooms: the historic bicycle collection, a set of model boats, and—most notably—the Red Tent that allowed survivors of Umberto Nobile’s 1928 Arctic expedition to endure after the crash of the airship Italia. No longer displayed for conservation reasons, the tent is now again visible, preserved in a climate-controlled container.
Fifteen editors took part, creating and improving articles on conservation techniques, museum collections, and related topics. Several Wikidata items were created or enhanced and mapped on OpenStreetMap, while new images have been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons
Fondazione Feltrinelli and Alps Museum
As part of a GLAM partnership supported through Wikimedia Italia’s Musei Archivi Biblioteche 2025 program, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli has shared original documents from the Italian Resistance during World War II.
The materials, preserved in the Libero Cavalli collection, include records from the Brigate Garibaldi, one of the most significant partisan formations active during the conflict. By making these documents available, the Foundation enriches Wikimedia projects with unique primary sources that testify to the history of anti-fascist resistance and the fight for liberation in Italy.
In the same framework, the Museo Civico Alpino Arnaldo Tazzetti in Usseglio (Turin) has shared two important natural history collections: its herbarium and its collection of butterflies from the Western Alps. The butterfly collection includes around 1,300 specimens covering nearly all species of diurnal Lepidoptera found in the Lanzo valleys, as well as numerous species from other Italian mountain areas. Both collections are being digitized in very high quality, with the resulting images made available on Wikimedia Commons to support taxonomic and conservation research while overcoming the geographic limitations of the museum’s high-mountain location.
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