Digital Public Archaeology in Italy: what is changing and why it is important

Описание: Domenica Pate, Antonia Falcone, Paola Romi
INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER

At the beginning of 2013 a structured network of archaeologists who focused on the popularisation and online communication
of archaeology was still missing in Italy. Since then much has changed, with old and new ventures trying to make up for deeply
felt deficiencies in the way archaeology is communicated to the wider public, off- and online.

The ever growing network of Italian “archaeobloggers”, as they called themselves from an idea by Cinzia Dal Maso, met for the
first time during the XVI Mediterranean Exchange of Archaeological Tourism in 2013: the declared goal was not only to take stock of the situation, but also to decide upon shared objectives. As a result, they organised participation in the fourth Day of Archaeology and from that experience a new editorial project ensued, “Archaeostories. Unconventional Handbook of
Experiencing Archaeology”, edited by Cinzia Dal Maso and Francesco Ripanti, that will be released in March 2015 and is
thought as a trait-d’union between off- and online experiences in communicating archaeology.

Simultaneously, Italian archaeobloggers became aware of their role in giving voice, alongside professional associations, to the
day-by-day issues of archaeologists all over the country, taking part in the ongoing debate about the profession and workers’
rights.

This paper will outline the changes made in communicating Italian archaeology online and describe how in Italy the Internet is becoming more and more the framework in which to address concerns about the profession as well as a fruitful laboratory for
the inception of spontaneous and organised communication experiments.