Digital Resources for Manuscripts: Between Fragmentation and Development Prospects

The Current Situation in ItalyBetween 2016 and 2020, the Italian Ministry of Culture allocated a total of 35.6 million euros to the digitization process and technological innovation out of a total allocation of 747 million euros, or 4.6 percent of the total allocated to it in the national budget.1 The repeated lockdowns due to the pandemic emergency, and the subsequent economic crisis, have made it more urgent than ever to rethink the function of cultural sites and open them up to the community through the rapid implementation of digital strategies.With fifty-five UNESCO World Heritage Sites as of 2020, the Italian culture and tourism sectors account for 12 percent of the gross domes-tic product and generate from 6 to 15 percent of total employment. The Court of Auditors has identified 163 cultural institutions (central institutes, regional secretariats, superintendencies, regional museum directorates, management offices and autonomous institutes) spread throughout the country.In terms of quantity, the achievements in cultural-heritage digitization are impressive: more than 37 million catalogue descriptions with about 26 million images, counting only the national information systems collec-tion. This digital information has been consulted by more than 100 million unique visitors in the last five years. Although the digitization of cultural heritage appears to be vast, some critical questions emerge from the survey. For example:– Museums are using internal personnel or are relying on external consultants.– Sixty-four percent of museums do not have in-house professionals with digital skills. -The Current Situation in ItalyBetween 2016 and 2020, the Italian Ministry of Culture allocated a total of 35.6 million euros to the digitization process and technological innovation out of a total allocation of 747 million euros, or 4.6 percent of the total allocated to it in the national budget.1 The repeated lockdowns due to the pandemic emergency, and the subsequent economic crisis, have made it more urgent than ever to rethink the function of cultural sites and open them up to the community through the rapid implementation of digital strategies.With fifty-five UNESCO World Heritage Sites as of 2020, the Italian culture and tourism sectors account for 12 percent of the gross domes-tic product and generate from 6 to 15 percent of total employment. The Court of Auditors has identified 163 cultural institutions (central institutes, regional secretariats, superintendencies, regional museum directorates, management offices and autonomous institutes) spread throughout the country.In terms of quantity, the achievements in cultural-heritage digitization are impressive: more than 37 million catalogue descriptions with about 26 million images, counting only the national information systems collec-tion. This digital information has been consulted by more than 100 million unique visitors in the last five years. Although the digitization of cultural heritage appears to be vast, some critical questions emerge from the survey. For example:– Museums are using internal personnel or are relying on external consultants.– Sixty-four percent of museums do not have in-house professionals with digital skills