Women's center in Bologna

The Women's center in Bologna (Italian: Centro di documentazione, ricerca e iniziativa delle donne della città di Bologna), often shortened to Centro di Documentazione delle Donne or Centro delle donne di Bologna, is a feminist documentation, research and initiative center based in the former convent of Santa Cristina at Via del Piombo 5-7 in Bologna, Italy. It grew out of a political and cultural project launched in the late 1970s by a group of Bolognese women who wanted to build a durable "sexed institution" (istituzione sessuata) capable of preserving and transmitting women's knowledge and memory. The center was officially inaugurated in May 1982 at Via Galliera 4 with the film series Niente cade dal cielo, dedicated to German women directors. In 1983 the group constituted itself as the Associazione Orlando, named after Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando, and signed an agreement with the Municipality of Bologna for the autonomous management of the center. The center houses two major bodies: the Biblioteca Italiana delle Donne (Italian Women's Library) and the Archivio di storia delle donne (Women's History Archive). The library is described as the most important specialized library in Italy for women's culture, gender studies and feminism, with a catalogue of more than 40,000 volumes registered in Italy's national library service (SBN) and 850 periodicals, of which 34 are still being published. Its collections cover feminism, the history of women's political movements, gender and women's studies, civil rights, the body, care, sexuality, social customs, new technologies and the gender digital divide, women's entrepreneurship and work, non-violent conflict resolution, and the situation of migrant women. Special holdings include a Historical Collection of about 4,000 works published before 1960 and rare printed works dating back to the 16th century. The Women's History Archive, created in 2007 from the reorganization of the Associazione Orlando's documents, was recognized by Italy's Ministry of Culture in 2010 as being of particular historical interest. The center has been a pioneer in digital access to women's knowledge. In 1993 it joined the Rete Lilith (Lilith Network), acting as coordination hub for associated centers. In 1994 it launched the Server Donne, a gender web portal with information, initiatives, databases, projects and research. In 2002 it published the Cercatrice di rete search engine, designed to highlight results generated by and for women. In 2006, with funding from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBAC), it created the Digital Women's Library (Biblioteca Digitale delle Donne) to digitize and unify archival and bibliographic heritage. Today the center's digital presence is organized through Women.it, described as a participatory environment for the co-production of content and the sharing of gender practices, integrating the Orlando association, the documentation center (with its archive and library) and the technological dimension. The center is managed by the Associazione Orlando APS under an agreement with the Municipality of Bologna, with support from the Emilia-Romagna Region and funding from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. It remains an active reference point for feminist collectives in Italy and abroad, organizing cultural initiatives, political reflection, and events such as the annual program around the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The Women's center in Bologna emerged from a feminist political and cultural project begun in the late 1970s. Bologna at the time was a city rich in resources and at the forefront of gender issues, with a long tradition of women's intellectual and cultural prominence linked to the University of Bologna. From the early 1970s, a group of women active in the city produced, collected and preserved a complex and articulated body of documentation — paper records including posters and photographs, audio recordings, films and videos — that would later form the basis of the center's collection, before the Associazione Orlando and the center itself were formally constituted. In 1982, on a proposal from this Bolognese feminist collective and Aureliana Alberici, the city's education councillor, the initiative to create a documentation, research and initiative center for women took shape. The center was inaugurated in May 1982 at Via Galliera 4 with the film series Niente cade dal cielo (Nothing Falls from the Sky), dedicated to German women directors. The first activities were organized there, and the founding nucleus of what would become the library was gathered. In 1983 the Associazione Orlando was founded, taking its name from Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando. The association signed an agreement with the Municipality of Bologna for the autonomous management of the center and quickly became a reference point for numerous feminist collectives in Italy and abroad. In several rooms of Palazzo Montanari, the center's second location, also on Via Galliera, the Women's Library was established to house a broad bibliographic and periodical collection. In 1989 this became the Biblioteca Italiana delle Donne, and from 1991 it was recognized as a library project of national interest. In the early 1990s the center began to orient itself toward digital access to knowledge. In 1993 the Rete Lilith (Lilith Network) was formally created, and the Bolognese Women's center — which also acted as coordination hub for associated centers — joined from its inception. In 1994, in step with the technological revolution, the center launched the Server Donne, described as a gender web portal containing information, initiatives, databases, projects and research characterized by knowledge and practices developed by women. In 2002 the Cercatrice di rete search engine was published online, designed to highlight results generated by and for women. Subsequently the library and documentary holdings moved to Palazzo dei Notai, before settling in 2005 in their current home, the former convent of Santa Cristina at Via del Piombo 5. In 2006, through a project financed by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBAC), the Biblioteca Digitale delle Donne (Digital Women's Library) was created to digitize and unify archival and bibliographic heritage. In 2007 the Archivio di storia delle donne (Women's History Archive) was created from the reorganization of the Associazione Orlando's documents, as an integral part of the documentation center. In 2010 the Ministry of Culture recognized the archive as being of relevant historical interest. Today the center operates through the Women.it digital architecture, described as an updated and dynamic digital environment that gathers the theoretical and political legacy of the path begun in the late 1970s. It integrates the Orlando APS association, the documentation center (with the Women's History Archive and the Italian Women's Library) and the technological dimension into a single ecosystem, functioning as a participatory environment for the co-production of content and the sharing of gender practices.

• 2010

  The Ministry of Culture recognizes the Women's History Archive as being of relevant historical interest.

• 2007

  The Archivio di storia delle donne (Women's History Archive) is created from the reorganization of the Associazione Orlando's documents.

• 2006

  The Biblioteca Digitale delle Donne (Digital Women's Library) is created through a project financed by MiBAC.

• 2005

  The library and documentary holdings settle in their current home, the former convent of Santa Cristina at Via del Piombo 5.

• 2002

  The Cercatrice di rete search engine is published online, designed to highlight results generated by and for women.

• 1994

  The center launches the Server Donne, a gender web portal with information, initiatives, databases, projects and research.

• 1993

  The Rete Lilith (Lilith Network) is formally created; the Bolognese center joins from its inception and acts as coordination hub.

• 1991

  The library is recognized as a library project of national interest.

• 1989

  The Women's Library becomes the Biblioteca Italiana delle Donne.

• 1983

  The Associazione Orlando is founded, named after Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando, and signs an agreement with the Municipality of Bologna for autonomous management of the center.

• 1982

  The center is officially inaugurated at Via Galliera 4 with the film series Niente cade dal cielo, dedicated to German women directors.

A feminist documentation, research and initiative center and a reference point for women's culture, gender studies and feminism in Italy.

• Biblioteca Italiana delle Donne

  The most important specialized library in Italy for women's culture, gender studies and feminism, with over 40,000 volumes and 850 periodicals.

• Archivio di storia delle donne

  Created in 2007 from the reorganization of the Associazione Orlando's documents; recognized by the Ministry of Culture in 2010 as of particular historical interest.

• Server Donne

  A gender web portal launched in 1994 containing information, initiatives, databases, projects and research.

• Cercatrice di rete

  A search engine published online in 2002 to highlight results generated by and for women.

• Biblioteca Digitale delle Donne

  Created in 2006 with MiBAC funding to digitize and unify archival and bibliographic heritage.

• Women.it

  The updated digital architecture integrating the Orlando association, the documentation center and the technological dimension into a single participatory ecosystem.

1. 1Associazione Orlando — Women.itwomen.it
2. 2Chi siamo — Women.itwomen.it
3. 3Women's center in Bologna — Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Centro de las mujeres de Bolonia — Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org