Access to historical memory increasingly unfolds in digital spaces and it is crucial to make the exploration of the past intuitive and engaging. Online amateur footage— a phenomenal historical source offering a direct view of the past—can play a decisive role in this process. Our presentation will focus on these two topics:
1. The need for online platforms that engage non-specialist audiences
We’ve developed the concept of a large-scale audiovisual atlas that lets users explore space and time through audiovisual content. In a working prototype focused on Rome, we mapped each clip—sourced from both institutional archives and amateur online footage— to its exact filming location and time period on an interactive map. The result is a rich, immersive experience that allows:
• Low-threshold access: Users are drawn in by curiosity about specific places or moments, even without prior interest in archives. • Playful interaction: Navigating the past becomes an exploratory act, akin to gameplay. • Emotional resonance: Familiar places seen in unfamiliar times evoke memory and recognition. Such platforms have significant public value: they support a more authentic collective memory, counterbalancing fictional narratives with spontaneous, unmediated glimpses of the past.
2. The anthropological treasure of online amateur footage
Amateur digital videos—often shared informally online—played a crucial role in our prototype. They hold great historical and anthropological value because they:
• Show unfiltered, everyday behaviors; • Document aspects of daily life rarely covered by professionals; • Offer diverse perspectives and micro-histories.
By combining institutional and amateur footage, we gain a more complete, decentralized, and democratic view of reality. We argue that greater attention must be paid to the selection, preservation, and valorization of this often-overlooked material.
