Cultural heritage as stones of memory. The recovery of archives in the area of the Marche crater area

The seismic events of Central Italy between 2016 and 2017 have torn the lifeblood of many territories between Marche, Umbria, Lazio and Abruzzo. The most affected zone includes the area of the Sibillini Mountains and the upper Tronto valley. Even if the emergency state is exceeded, there are still many interventions to be implemented. Of course, the first allocations of funds must be directed to the physical reconstruction of the territories but it is also essential to deal with the restoration of social and identity recollection. For this reason, an integrated reading of cultural heritage (archives, libraries and museums) is essential to guarantee the survival of the memory of those communities that have been heavily damaged or even completely destroyed. Hence the need to create a scientific project shared between territories and stakeholders aimed at preserving the vast documentary heritage that lies in highly precarious conditions. The first phase of the project was dedicated to the recovery, description, reorganization and cataloguing of selected archives; subsequently a second phase of the project will be aimed at reconstructing the identity of the communities damaged by seismic events through a narrative and educational strand, so that citizens fully understand how the possible loss of archives is also equivalent to a loss of memory itself. A project dedicated to cultural heritage - stones of memory - so as not to lose the material and immaterial value that the institutes and places of culture preserve for their mission. The paper aims to return the methodological principles and the actions related to the project that is the recovery of archives in the area of the Marche crater. The contribution presents the planning phases of the first two projects started in the municipalities of Urbisaglia and Ussita. Furthermore, it returns a case of musealization and necessary recovery of the local memory.