Prospettiva Archivi

PROSPETTIVA Archives is a project set up by the Fondazione Fiera Milano in partnership with AFIP International and La Triennale di Milano, and sponsored by the Fondazione Cariplo, which aims to transform archives into a dynamic and functional tool.

It involves the collection, preservation, and cataloguing of photographic documents to unlock the value of what is a true cultural goldmine, by opening up access to them via an online platform and organizing a series of exhibitions and cultural events for the public. The project starts with the historical archive of the Fondazione Fiera Milano and its collection of over five hundred thousand photographs. That collection is set to expand in upcoming years through the strategic acquisition of the photographic archives of leading Italian photographers, with the aim of building a new and unique depository—a first of its kind in Italy and the world—of the heritage of Fiera Milano, the city of Milan, and Lombardy. Acquisitions will be steered by the themes already present in the Fondazione Fiera Milano Archive—Architecture, Product Design, Milan, People, Innovation, Food, and Fashion.
The project was presented to the public through the exhibition “PROSPETTIVA. Journey through the Archives of the Fondazione Fiera Milano,” from 23rd November, 2018 to 20th January, 2019 at the Triennale di Milano. In January 2019, the Franco Bottino Archive was the first acquisition to be made by the Fondazione Fiera Milano. In 2023 the collaboration with the Giovanni Gastel Archive was born which will lead to the publication of around 20,000 images, the result of a selection of services and campaigns, advertising and artistic images, shots by one of the greatest Italian photographer.
In 2023, a new collaboration was started up with the Giovanni Gastel Archive, unlocking access to around twenty thousand images documenting the session, campaign, advertising, art, book, and event photography work of the great Milanese photographer.