Posted on 02 October 2018
On 25 September 2018 participants at the KHI (Kunsthistorisches Institut Florenz) Summer School on “The City as Archive. Histories of Collecting and Archiving in and the Musealisation of Florence” visited the Historical Archives of the European Union.
On their arrival at the HAEU, the students were introduced to the role and activities of the Archives in its transnational context and the unique heritage it offers to the European academic and cultural communities. While at Villa Salviati, the students were presented with documents relating to the topic of the summer school and the role played by cities and capitals in the European integration process. Among the key subjects discussed was the selection of locations for the EU institutions and other European organizations, such as the choice of Florence as the host city for the European University Institute and the Historical Archives of the EU. These questions were explored by visualising original documents from the archives of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), the Conference of North-West European Regions (CRENO), the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CCRE) the Conference of European University Rectors (CRE), the Coal and Steel Community (CECA) and the European University Institute (EUI).
The visit to the HAEU was the final event of the seven-day Summer School organised by Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, one of the oldest research institutions dedicated to the history of art and architecture in Italy. Since 2002, KHI works under the auspices of the Max Planck Society. The HAEU visit took place in the framework of the broader investigation into Florence as an “archive of knowledge”, where students could visit some of the more important historical, archeological, and cultural sites of the city.
More than twenty international students coming from different countries around the world, namely France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Turkey, the USA, and the UK, took part in the visit to the HAEU. At the end of the visit, the group were shown around the castle and gardens of Villa Salviati.
Additional photos from the KHI Summer School visit to our Archives are available on
our Facebook page.