A digital archive understood as a relational structure of knowledge.
A research environment in which manuscripts, correspondence, lectures, publications, institutions and intellectual figures can be explored through their relationships — built on, but distinct from, the physical Gianni Vattimo archives at UPF.
The Project
The physical Gianni Vattimo archives are preserved at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and contain manuscripts, correspondence, typescripts, lecture notes, publications and related documentary material.
Vattimo's Digital Archive is a research platform built upon those holdings, providing structured digital access through the catalogue, indexed people and relational visualisations.
Digitisation is treated here as organisation and research infrastructure: it makes intellectual relationships visible without replacing consultation of the physical archive.
“Lorenzo Gensini's digital map is vital to research, navigate, and understand Vattimo's philosophical world. I use it every day.”
Method & Research
The digital archive is built through four interconnected stages that transform archival description into a structured relational dataset.
Digitisation
Scanning, OCR and Handwritten Text Recognition.
Metadata
Controlled description of date, type, language and archival reference.
Entity Extraction
Identification and reuse of people, works and institutions.
Network Construction
Co-occurrences become relational links and visual structures.
People & Institutions
The physical archives are held within the UPF Center for Vattimo Archives and Philosophy, in collaboration with Universitat Pompeu Fabra, its Department of Humanities, the UPF Library and ICREA. Vattimo's Digital Archive is the research platform developed within this institutional framework.
- UPF Center for Vattimo Archives and Philosophy
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra
- Department of Humanities, UPF
- ICREA
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra Library
- SZ
Prof. Dr. Santiago Zabala
ICREA / UPFScientific Director and Academic Supervisor
santiago.zabala@upf.edu - CC
Ms. Chiara Caiazzo
UPF PhD Candidate · FPU FellowSeminars and Archive Coordination
chiara.caiazzo@upf.edu - LGCurator
Mr. Lorenzo Gensini
UPF PhD Candidate · Center for Vattimo ArchivesDigital Archive Curator, Website Development and Digitisation
lorenzogensini98@gmail.com - IM
Ms. Imma Muxella
Universitat Pompeu FabraLibrarian and Archive Supervisor
immaculada.muxella@upf.edu