Annuario 2020 – Chi si innamora di pratica senza scienza: inseguendo un’utopia – Federico Valacchi

This article results from a virtual lesson held for the Archival science, Paleography and Diplomatics School of the Milan State Archives, based on the observation of the multifunctional nature of archives and their diversity from other types of cultural heritage. Thus, it analyses the concepts of time and space in relation to the evolution of archival sediments, their management and their multiple uses. After touching upon archival central themes, such as the functional relationship between order and disorder, and introducing the becoming of archival bodies in the digital context, the article focuses on the analysis of the civic, public and political functions of archives. The conclusive section reflects on the need of integrating archival systems into the daily reality, and combining them with other narrative elements useful to the purpose of reconstructing historical, geographical, political and social contexts.