From October 18 to 25, 2025, the Antico Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala Foundation participates in the eleventh edition of the Open Archives Week, the event promoted by Rete Fotografia to enhance and raise awareness of the photographic heritage preserved in Italian archives. Every year, the initiative involves cultural organizations and institutions throughout the national territory, offering the public unique opportunities to access often inaccessible materials and reflect on the documentary and historical value of photography.The theme chosen for this year is
Resistant Photography: the Role of Images in Historical Narratives, with a particular focus on the Second World War and photography's ability to tell, preserve, and transmit historical memory.During the week, within the Giuliano Briganti Library and Photographic Archive, it will be possible to participate in activities for children, meetings, and free guided tours during which visitors can closely explore historical photographs of artworks that disappeared, were destroyed, or stolen during the war.
Scheduled Events
📍 Saturday, October 18, 2025 – 4:30 PM
Giuliano Briganti Library and Photographic Archive and Children's Art Museum
Discovering Memory with Colors – Visit and Workshop for Children
An activity designed for children aged 4 and over, accompanied by at least one adult, to discover the hidden stories in photographic archives: films, negatives, and stereoscopies tell the fate of lost or found artworks. At the end of the visit, a creative workshop will follow to reinterpret the observed images through color.
🎨 Duration: 1h 30min (visit + workshop)
💶 Cost: € 5.00 per participant (second accompanying adult free)
👉 Reservation required – max 25 participants
📩 educazione@santamariadellascala.com📍 Tuesday, October 21, 2025 – 5:30 PM
Giuliano Briganti Library and Photographic Archive
Photographs of Lost Works: the Case of the Marriniano Crucifix for the Basilica of the Osservanza
Art historian Marco Fagiani presents the discovery of some historical photographs documenting a nineteenth-century crucifix destroyed during the bombing of the Basilica of the Osservanza in Siena in January 1944. The images, preserved in the Péleo Bacci archive held at the Intronati Library, allowed the recovery of the visual memory of the work, today attributed to the workshop of the Sienese sculptor Lorenzo di Mariano, known as il Marrina.
👉 Reservation recommended – max 30 participants
📩 fototeca.briganti@santamariadellascala.com📍 Thursday, October 23, 2025 – 5:30 PM
Giuliano Briganti Library and Photographic Archive
Photographs of Lost Works: Photographic Testimony in the Giuliano Briganti Photographic Archive Heritage
A thematic guided visit by art historian Lucia Simona Pacchierotti, discovering archival images documenting works now lost, such as Caravaggio’s Saint Matthew and the Angel or Sassetta’s Assumption. The meeting also includes a selection of analog prints from late nineteenth-century glass stereoscopies, created in collaboration with the Sienese association LUX – Dopolavoro Fotografico, showing historic buildings that no longer exist today.
👉 Reservation recommended – max 25 participants
📩 fototeca.briganti@santamariadellascala.com
Locations
Others Events
- Events
Siena Comics For Kids. The Comic Festival at the Museum!
3 Oct 2025/5 Oct 2025At Santa Maria della Scala, from October 3 to 5, 2025, the fifth edition of Siena Comics For Kids will take place, the comic festival dedicated to children and young people.
- Initiative
Bright-Night returns to Santa Maria della Scala. Stands, talks, walks with research, guided tours, and music
26 Sep 2025/26 Sep 2025The Bright-Night 2025 of the University of Siena returns on Friday, September 26th inside the museum complex.
- conference
Well-being at the museum: examples of best practice projects for Alzheimer’s and their caregivers
1 Oct 2025/1 Oct 2025On the occasion of World Alzheimer’s Day, Wednesday, October 1, the Fondazione Antico Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala is organizing the conference Well-being at the Museum: Examples of Best Practices in Projects for Alzheimer’s and Those Who Care for Them, a moment of reflection and open discussion for cultural and healthcare professionals as well as the general public.
#IncontriallaScala- Museology and Perception. From the Contemplation of Beauty to the Aesthetic Experience
18 Sep 2025/18 Sep 2025Thursday, September 18 at 5:30 pm, Santa Maria della Scala hosts a new event in the #IncontriallaScala series, dedicated to the presentation of the book Museology and Perception. From the Contemplation of Beauty to the Aesthetic Experience, written by Domenico Piraina and Maurizio Vanni and published by Pacini Editore.
- presentations
Fausto Melotti. In Lightness | A Tribute to Italo Calvino
20 Sep 2025/20 Sep 2025On Saturday, September 20, 2025, at 4:30 PM, the presentation of the volume Fausto Melotti. In leggerezza | A tribute to Italo Calvino, curated by Michelina Eremita and published by Silvana Editoriale, will take place at the Sala Sant’Ansano.
- Exhibition
"Oh Good!" by Moustapha Cessay at the Briganti Library
24 Sep 2025/31 Oct 2025On the occasion of the fifth edition of the Festival Voci Migranti, the Giuliano Briganti Library and Photographic Archive will host from October 24 to 31 the work Oh Good! by the artist Moustapha Cessay, created as part of the Le Valigie Digitali project.
- Initiative
Sunday at Santa Maria della Scala
On every first Sunday of the month, Santa Maria della Scala opens free of charge to the public. An opportunity to visit the museum complex and the National Archaeological Museum.
- Initiative
Finissage of the exhibition 'Paper Garden. Thread and line: grafts, assemblages, diary-books
6 Jun 2025/6 Jun 2025To mark the closing of the exhibition, on Friday, June 6, we are organizing a finissage featuring several events throughout the day.
- guided tour
Nights of Archaeology 2025 – July 31
31 Jul 2025As every year, the National Archaeological Museum takes part in the Nights of Archaeology, promoted by the Tuscany Region, with free night openings, educational activities, and guided tours.
- guided tour
European Heritage Days 2025
27 Sep 2025/28 Sep 2025On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, promoted by the Ministry of Culture, the Santa Maria della Scala museum complex offers a rich program of guided tours and activities for children.
