The

Michele Valori Michele Valori (Bologna, 23 June 1923 – Rome, 16 October 1979) was an Italian urban designer and architect. Biography Son of author and journalist Aldo Valori and brother of famous actress Bice Valori, Mich ...

archive, which has been declared as an item of great historical interest (“a precious resource for the history of architecture and urbanism in Italy”), was acquired for

MAXXI MAXXI ( it, Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, italic=no, "national museum of 21st-century arts") is a national museum of contemporary art and architecture in the Flaminio neighborhood of Rome, Italy. The museum is managed by a foundation ...

’s collections in 2006 by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. It documents the architect’s professional activity between the years of 1949 and 1979 and is a testament to his involvement in debates surrounding architecture and town planning in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Available to scholars and the general public, the archive is made up of more than 2,700 designs for over 100 projects, kept in files and tubes that are methodically sorted and subdivided, and supporting diagrams such as surveys and maps. It also includes more than 5,000 photographic items such as negatives, photographic plates, and dispositive (photographic slides and transparencies), amongst which are teaching materials, documentation of travel and construction sites and prints. It also includes writings on architecture and urban planning, correspondence, travel notes, diaries, and audiovisual materials. The writings are particularly useful for understanding Valori’s work and its commitment to urban development, particularly in relation to the environment and territorial transformation processes.

Organisation

Five archival strands have been identified: * Professional activity: documenting the activity of

and his studio in

and abroad between 1949 and 1979, through designs, models and photographs * Educational and cultural activity: writings, reports, interviews and studies, as well as lecture and speech notes for the conferences and round tables in which he participated, nationally and internationally, on topics such as urbanism and planning. * Photographic and audiovisual materials: photographic plates, diapositives, photographs of project papers, maps and plans of towns and building sites. * Correspondence: private letters, sorted by year from 1950 to 1961 * Cartography and printed materials: maps of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and other cities, aerial photographs and tables produced by IGM (

Istituto Geografico Militare The ''Istituto Geografico Militare'' (IGM), or Military Geographic Institute, is an Italian public organization, dependent on the Italian Army general staff (''Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito''). It is the national mapping agency for Italy. Overvie ...

/ Military Geographical InstItute), magazines and extracts relating primarily to

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, which is the profession focusing on the physical design and m ...

and associated topics.

Conservation

The conservation of the Michele Valori Archive started with the conditioning of all the materials held by the

Museum, using tubes, envelopes and itemised files. MAXXI Architecture Archives Centre, Michele Valori Archive, record in "AAA Italia. Bulletin n.9/2010", pages 44–45, May 2010.

Related entries

National Museum of 21st Century Art *

Maria Valentina Tonelli Maria Valentina Tonelli (16 April 1939 – 9 February 2016) was an Italian pharmacist, essayist and editor. Biography Maria Valentina Tonelli was born in Rome, 16 April 1939. She graduated from Sapienza University in Rome with a degree in Phar ...

References

{{authority control Urban designers 20th-century Italian architects Modernist architects Architects from Rome Archives in Italy