Counterculture Project

An integrated research project on Italian counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s

With The Counterculture Project, the Rome Contemporary initiative of the Weddigen Department has developed an integrated research project that encompasses the digitization of documents, their publication in open access, scholarships dedicated to their study, research activities, the publication of research results, and an informative video.

Special Collection of digitized documents

In collaboration with the Fondazione Echaurren Salaris, the Bibliotheca Hertziana has made available over a thousand rare documents in 30,000 scans from the Pablo Echaurren archive. This is the largest collection of such material and includes fanzines, posters, flyers, and magazines. These documents illustrate the political and artistic creativity of the post-1968 period, which forms a key decade in contemporary Italian history. The documents are freely available at:

Digital collection on art and politics in Italy in the 1960s and 1970s from the Echaurren Salaris Foundation archive  (https://echaurren.biblhertz.it/PE.html)

“Looking back on all these jokes, playful attitudes, and ironic provocations, perhaps we realize that this is really the only thing that remains from that period in terms of the imagination, communication, and atmosphere that enlivened it. Perhaps that aspect is the only one capable of withstanding the attrition wrought by time.” (Pablo Echaurren, from the video: Hertziana Insights, Rome Contemporary: Pablo Echaurren and the Years of Counterculture. Produced by: LAND Comunicazioni)

Scholarships

The Bibliotheca Hertziana has created scholarships to study this material. The recipients of the Counterculture Scholarship have been

• Martina Caruso
• Jacopo Galimberti
• Carlotta Vacchelli

Research activities

The integrated research project has included research seminars, workshops, film seminars, field seminars, and participation in exhibitions and festivals:

• see list (https://echaurren.biblhertz.it/PE.html) 

Informative video

The video series Hertziana Insights provides insights into the Institute’s research topics and initiatives with short documentaries produced by LAND Comunicazioni. The series includes a video dedicated to this project:

Pablo Echaurren and the Years of Counterculture

 

Research Publication

Finally, the integrated research project has culminated in the publication of the results generated thus far by this research in the series Studi della Bibliotheca Hertziana:

Pablo Echaurren: Art For the Many, ed. Martina Caruso, Jacopo Galimberti, Raffaella Perna

216 pages, 140 illustrations, hardback with plan
Cinisello Balsamo, Milan: Silvana Editoriale 2025
ISBN: 978-88-366-6007-0, € 50,00