The Historical Archives of the European Union and the State Archives of Florence, along with partners from the SAGA project, invite the public to an archival exhibit on sustainable practices and initiatives over the centuries. The exhibit will be open from 19 June through 27 September 2026 with free guided tours every Friday at 10:00.
Sustainability did not begin with modern climate debates. For centuries, it was simply the logic of survival: how to heat, build, produce, and travel without exhausting available resources, and in being prepared for subsequent seasons.
The SAGA project - Sustainable Archives and Greener Approaches - has brought together its partner archives in the creation of Stories and History of Sustainability, an historical exhibition that traces the long experience of sustainable practices through archival sources. Several major European archives from Italy, Hungary, Spain, Malta and Portugal have drawn from their rich collections to illustrate the creativity, ingenuity and environmentally respectful practices people developed in previous eras to adapt to contexts shaped by limited resources.
In Italy, the Italian language version of the exhibit has been installed at the Archivio di Stato di Firenze. Precious documents from the collections of the Archivio di Stato di Firenze and the Historical Archives of the European Union complement the curated panels, shedding light on centuries of attention to protecting the natural environment of Florence and its surroundings.
The exhibit is free and open to the public.
Opening hours: Monday through Friday from 9:00-17:00
Guided tours: Friday mornings at 10:00 (in Italian)
Address: Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Viale della Giovine Italia, 6, Florence.
SAGA is an innovative transnational EU project addressing the shared need to protect national archives from natural and human-made disasters, climate change, and sustainability risks. Partners come from Spain, Hungary, Malta, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Slovakia.