Archivitaly

29/09/2026

"Private Collection, Italy.” How much does that actually tell us? Our article looks at the gap between a provenance statement and the evidence behind it.

How published provenance acquires authority, why repetition is not corroboration, and what source dependence reveals about evidence in the art market.

13/09/2026

AI can read old handwriting. But can it tell when a reading is evidence and when it is only probable? Our new post looks at what happens when historical manuscripts meet HTR and multimodal AI.
www.archivitaly.it/ai-palaeography-historical-handwriting

06/09/2026

A date in the text is not always the date of the hand. New on Archivitaly 👇
www.archivitaly.it/dating-early-modern-hands/

Dating early modern hands requires comparison, not intuition: letterforms, ductus, abbreviations and context together support a defensible chronology.

31/08/2026

September begins. Some archive doors reopen. Some holdings still don’t. Access Watch #22 👇

Archivitaly Access Watch #22 tracks verified archive closures, reduced hours, access limits and unavailable holdings in Italy, 31 August–6 September.

28/08/2026

What happens when an archival transcription is correct everywhere except at the point that matters most? Our latest article looks at palaeography not simply as the decipherment of old handwriting, but as a method for determining how much historical weight a reading can responsibly bear.👇

Palaeographic transcription shows how one misread word can alter names, dates, provenance and historical interpretation in archival research.

27/08/2026

21/08/2026

Paleography, transcription, translation: three terms that are often used as if they meant the same thing. They do not. Our latest post explains why the distinction matters.👇

Paleography, transcription and translation are distinct stages of archival work; understanding the difference protects the accuracy of historical texts.

17/08/2026

Planning archival research in Italy this week? Check the Archivitaly Access Watch before you travel, tracking verified closures, reduced opening hours, retrieval limits and temporary consultation restrictions affecting archives across Italy from 17–23 August 2026.

Verified archive closures, reduced hours and consultation limits across Italy for the week 17–23 August 2026 in Archivitaly Access Watch #20.

14/08/2026

How do ecclesiastical archives go digital? Vatican repositories. Religious-order platforms. BeWeB. Diocesan networks. Parish registers online. Different institutions, different approaches. New on Archivitaly.

14/08/2026

How do ecclesiastical archives go digital? Through very different systems: Vatican repositories, religious-order platforms, diocesan networks and online parish registers. Our latest article compares the models.👇

A comparative guide to digital access across the Vatican Apostolic Archive, religious orders, diocesan repositories and parish collections today.