More than 50 years of audiovisual files documenting the history of the European University Institute (EUI) are now available for online consultation at the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU). The opening of this collection coincides with the 50th anniversary of the EUI and offers a unique visual journey through half a century of academic, institutional, cultural and social life.
The collection, comprising more than 8200 photographs, posters, sound recordings, and videos in various formats (VHS, open-reel tapes, CDs, DVDs, and digital files), documents the evolution of the Institute from the negotiations for its creation in the 1970s to the present day. The files encompass a wide range of visual documentation, including images of academic ceremonies, conferences, institutional visits, and commemorative events, as well as the more informal moments that capture the everyday life and interactions of a university community. Together, these photographs offer a multifaceted perspective on the European University Institute, revealing not only its formal functions and scholarly endeavours but also the social and cultural dynamics that shape the institution’s daily life.
An archive of institutional and European visual memory
The photographs trace the evolution of the EUI’s premises, from the works at the Badia Fiesolana (1975–1976) and Villa Schifanoia (1989), the first Archive in Villa Poggiolo to the restoration of Villa Salviati and the inauguration of the Historical Archives of the European Union on that site.
The collection also documents important institutional events such as the Jean Monnet Lectures. These speeches brought prominent figures to the campus, including Roy Jenkins (1977), Simone Veil (1980), Altiero Spinelli (1983), Giulio Andreotti (1985), Ruud Lubbers (1991), Romano Prodi (1998 and 2004), Mary McAleese (1999), Giuliano Amato (2000), and José Manuel Durão Barroso (2006 and 2010).
Through these and other images, viewers witness a parade of European and global personalities before their eyes: Mario Soares, Francesco Cossiga, Michel Rocard, Hans-Gert Pöttering, Pascal Couchepin, Carl Bildt, Leonel Fernández Reina, Massimo D’Alema, Ségolène Royal, Felipe González, Princess Marie of Denmark, and Charles, Prince of Wales, among others.
Other documented proceedings include inaugurations and signing ceremonies, such as Portugal’s accession to the EUI (1989) and an agreement with the Municipality of Florence (1996). They also comprise academic conferences, receptions, alumni reunions, as well as social and cultural activities such as Open Days, concerts, excursions, theatre performances, and summer or Christmas parties.
In addition to offering a window into academic life at the European University Institute, the collection also provides glimpses into the vibrant life of Florence itself. Some events documented in the archives took place within the city’s historic buildings, allowing viewers to appreciate not only the scholarly activities but also the architectural and cultural richness of Florence, such as those held in the Salone dei Cinquecento in Florence’s city hall. These images highlight how certain public spaces have long served as stages for both civic and academic ceremonies, enfolding the EUI’s history into the broader heritage of the Renaissance city.
Archival processing
The HAEU team completed the selection, description, and full digitization of the collection following criteria for long-term preservation and accessibility. All analogue materials have been digitized using full-frame cameras and stored in acid- and lignin-free sleeves. For the albums produced after 2008, the original photographs were born digital and have been preserved in their native format.
The archival process included a selection based on aesthetic and content criteria, digitizing, describing, and publishing the most representative items while maintaining the original context and cross-references between albums and digitized images. The collection also preserves the original albums, which may be consulted physically in the Archives’ reading room.
The archival workflow was defined to ensure both documentary relevance, avoiding noise and documentary silences by highlighting the most meaningful images, and the preservation of the original context and images for the study of specific events or the narrative suggested by the album’s arrangement.
This digitization project falls within the implementation of the EUI President’s Decision 9/2023, which aims, among other objectives, to permanently preserve records of historical value, guarantee the institutional memory of the EUI, and facilitate the generation and dissemination of knowledge, a responsibility entrusted to the Institute’s Document Management Officer (DMO).
The audiovisual material transfers were carried out by the Communications Service, the Body and Brain Boosting Board (commonly known as 4B), and in 2025 by the Institute’s DMO, Jesús Galán, completing the incorporation of materials from different units of the Institute.
A history of photographic history
The images in the EUI collection are not only significant for the history of the EUI. For visual historians, they may serve as a valuable basis for a wide range of studies.
From a photo-historical point of view, the EUI collection reflects the trajectory of institutional photography and photographic techniques from the 1950s to the present.
It reveals the transformation of photographic practice, from the black-and-white portraits of the 1970s, taken with 35 mm or 50 mm cameras and flash, presented in high-quality leather albums with large-format prints, to the digital color images of the 2000s, marked by higher output and greater spontaneity.
The later files testify to innovations from the 1990s, when photographers increasingly worked in color and began experimenting with different lenses, including fisheye lenses and filters used in digital-born photography. The quality of born-digital images, initially inferior to analogue photographs, quickly improved to become the professional standard after 2010. These albums reflect this evolution in practice, making them an excellent example of the changing landscape of photography.
Since 2004, images present in the EUI collections were captured digitally, with a selection printed on photographic paper and inserted into photo albums. These were initially accompanied by a CD containing high-resolution images and later with lower-resolution copies. The quality of these albums has varied over time, reflecting changes in technology and production practices. The lower quality of digital-era albums may indicate a decline in the symbolic value of the physical object or economic constraints in photographic documentation, linked to image saturation and limited resources. At the same time, it allows for the inclusion of more everyday scenes and seemingly banal images, contributing to a more candid and less constrained representation of life at the EUI.
The photographs can also be studied semiotically, showing how the EUI representation of itself changed from a formal, diplomatic style to a more open and everyday representation of its international academic community. In images of institutional visits, a recurring protocol can be observed over the decades: the arrival and greeting of dignitaries, a visit to the Badia, the formal signing of the institutional guest book and exchange of gifts, a visit to the library, and the guest’s public lecture, open to the public and in the presence of Italian authorities.
This photographic collection also provides interesting insights into the evolution of fashion over time. Beyond their aesthetic or technical qualities, they reveal how fashion could adapt within institutional or formal contexts, where appearance and clothing would be relevant indicators of social norms and professional identity, though not the central focus. Through these images, it would be possible to analyze how dress codes and stylistic choices might reflect broader cultural and historical changes, allowing for a study of fashion that would extend beyond the fashion industry itself. In this sense, the photographs would constitute an important tool for understanding how institutional environments may reflect the prevailing trends and values of different periods.
Finally, the photos testify to technological changes in the equipment used to stage these events, from how rooms were set up for simultaneous translation, the tape recorder used to create the Oral History Programme, which is also part of the EUI’s audiovisual collection, to the types of cameras used by the press to cover these occasions. Examining these technologies would not only allow the tracing of their evolution over time but would also provide an opportunity to draw parallels with the present, potentially offering insights into what has changed, what has remained consistent, and how technological developments may have shaped the way such events are documented and experienced.
A visual heritage in open access
Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the HAEU and the Institute’s DMO, the photographic collection of the European University Institute has been transformed into a comprehensive and dynamic testimony to both contemporary academic life and other dimensions of European and photographic history. The collection is fully accessible online, systematically catalogued for ease of search and retrieval, and structured to allow for reuse in research and teaching, ensuring its preservation not only as a historical archive but also as a resource that can inform and inspire future generations of scholars and the wider public.
Consult EUI audiovisual material on the Archives' multimedia portal or within the EUI holdings in the HAEU database.