Benacense Archive Discovery Sparks Centennial Club History Project
There is a small treasure of «Viva Rivana» — made up of over ninety years of passion, more or less titanic sporting achievements, and devotion to a flag — that risked remaining inactive, gathering dust on four shelves inside a small communal room located in Palazzo Salvadori, above the Danti boutique.
Discovery and Recovery of the Archive
This is the historical archive of Benacense, whose semi-forgotten storage was some time ago «discovered» by Gianni Pellegrini, vice director of the Museum, from Elio Bresciani, who, besides running his charming workshop, is also one of the most passionate «guardians» of local memories.
The «discovery» sparked Pellegrini’s imagination, who within a few days — aided by the immediate availability of the president of Benacense, Stefano Arisi, and Federico Zucchelli (who held the keys to the room) — was able to take a look at the green-and-white archive.
Content and Interest of the Archive
It is a collection consisting of old photographs of athletes, documents, posters, and various materials. Of course, it does not only concern the soccer activities of Benacense but extends to other sports in which the illustrious club has been involved: rowing, cycling, athletics, and so on.
Arisi immediately volunteered to make it available to the Museum, and thus Pellegrini quickly proceeded to establish a «cataloging» program for the Benacense archive (which ended up in Palazzo Salvadori after several moves: via Lipella, the former Livio bar, offices under the stand at the Viale Rovereto stadium) as part of the so-called «Dedalus Project».
Future Perspectives and Projects
Next summer, students from ITC and the Liceo, coordinated by Museum experts and perhaps with the benevolent collaboration of some «Grandfather» Rivana, will organize and tidy up the material.
But this will not be just a cleanup. The museum’s (and also Arisi’s) secret dream is to prepare, by the upcoming 2005 — the centenary of Benacense — a specific publication on the club’s history, possibly accompanied by an exhibition of the most prestigious and interesting «relics».
