Projects
Internships
Starting from June 2021, and continuing until the academic year 2022/2023, thanks to the availability of the Director of the Saras Department at Sapienza University, Prof. Gaetano Lettieri, and the care and coordination of the director of the Guerrieri Archive, Prof. Stefano Locatelli, the Association promoted the completion of training internships at the Gerardo Guerrieri Library and Archive in via dei Volsci, in Rome.
The interns, enrolled in postgraduate degree programs in the Saras Department at "La Sapienza" University, worked with documents and books from the Guerrieri Archive Library under the supervision of librarians. In September 2021, a call for applications was announced, and an archivist was selected, who from January 2022 to mid 2023 has been dedicated to organizing the materials of the Guerrieri Archive, in order to make them more easily accessible to scholars and students.
So far, the internships have been a valuable opportunity not only to organize Guerrieri's books and archival materials, preparing them for use by scholars working on publications about him, but also to introduce his figure to young people who were not familiar with him before.
We received a beautiful email from one of the students who completed their internship, which we are pleased to share with you, as it is a proof of the importance of the opportunities that we hope to create through our Association.
From the email by an intern written in 2021 at the end of his experience at the Guerrieri Archive, which we are pleased to publish, with the interns’ consent..
Kind Ladies and Gentlemen,
As my 150-hour internship comes to an end, it is necessary for me to pass the torch to the students who will take over my position at the Deposito Macchia. Taking advantage of this email, I am attaching the Excel file on which they will need to continue working.
I wanted to bid farewell to all of you with these words.
During these months, I have had the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and skills that will undoubtedly be valuable for me in carrying out my future projects.
I sincerely thank each and every one of you for the warmth and professionalism you have shown towards me.
It has been an honor for me to work for my University and to get to know and deepen my understanding of Gerardo Guerrieri's figure and work.
Initially, I must confess, I felt a sort of reverential fear towards the library materials I worked with. However, by the end of this experience, those same books became my friends: a place where I could lose myself and find comfort.
Working at the Guerrieri Library, I reflected on how the texts we choose, live with, and keep on the shelves of our own libraries tell stories about us. The books I held in my hands captivated me so much! While I was at the University, at the Deposito Macchia on Via dei Volsci 122, Gerardo Guerrieri was with me. He was with me as I flipped through the books that belonged to him; there he told me about the man he was, what he loved, and how he lived.
I often fantasized about his daily life, starting from the fragments of lived life that, not infrequently, jumped out from the pages of his books: scraps of paper, newspaper clippings, advertising brochures for exhibitions, and many other things.
I came into contact with fragments of Gerardo's own history, his affections, and his daily life: nestled within the pages of the volumes of his library were dedications and messages left by and for colleagues, family, and friends.
As someone born only in 1994, nearly a decade after his passing, I still felt so close to him in the everydayness and vulnerability of so many small things.
Recently, I often found myself among the shelves thinking about my dad: a reserved man of few words, always with his nose buried in books. He has always been like that for as long as I can remember, all day long, every day, with a pipe in his mouth, glasses on his nose, a book in his hands, and the radio playing in the background.
Today, I am aware that the same endless books stored on the shelves of my dad's numerous libraries will one day tell me more about him than he himself does in his reservedness.
Selene, I found the passion you poured into remembering your father sincerely moving.
I warmly thank the Cultural Association Gerardo Guerrieri and Sapienza University for making this beautiful training experience possible; Thanks to Dr. Raieli, Dr. Guerrieri, and Prof. Locatelli for organizing and supervising the internship.
Thanks to the people who worked more closely and daily with us interns: Dr. Mutarelli and Drs. Calabró and Nazio, serious, prepared, sensitive, and passionate individuals. Always available and professional: It was enlightening to discover the expertise of those who work behind the scenes of the libraries of my University.
Thanks to Dr. Tortora, always competent and timely in responding to emails of all kinds related to the more technical aspects of the internship.
Forgive the oversight if I have failed to thank someone.
Please, give all your energy to the students who will continue the work that I, Mireya, and Carlotta have carried out to date.
Thank you for everything.
Adriano Spaziani