Ten years after his passing, the work of Pinuccio Sciola – one of the most important Italian sculptors of the late twentieth century – finds new life in the digital world. The Foundation bearing his name has presented the Pinuccio Sciola Digital Archive, a project that makes the artist’s entire documentary, visual, and design heritage available online. The initiative goes beyond simple preservation, becoming a dynamic tool for research and cultural promotion, able to convey the richness and depth of such an extraordinary artistic journey.
Created by the Pinuccio Sciola Foundation in collaboration with Hyperborea, a company of Gruppo Panini Cultura, the Archive is designed as an advanced platform for consultation and study. Built on the Arianna4 software, it follows the international IIIF (International Image Interoperability Framework) standards, ensuring advanced features and full interoperability with major cultural institutions worldwide.
The digitised collection includes more than two thousand documents and fifty graphic works, organised according to rigorous scholarly criteria. Of particular interest is the section dedicated to the “Places of Sciola”, which brings together over four hundred projects, including manuscripts, sketches and preparatory materials. This section reveals the origins of the artist’s creative process and his constant dialogue with different materials: from stone to wood, from terracotta to bronze.
It is a body of work that documents decades of experimentation and makes it possible to trace the wide network of relationships the artist built at both national and international level.
Funded through PNRR resources as part of the Next Generation EU program, with the support of Regione Sardegna, the project stands as a model for the enhancement of contemporary cultural heritage. Founded in 2016 by Sciola’s children – Chiara, Tomaso, and Maria – the Foundation thus strengthens its mission to protect and share their father’s legacy, offering scholars and institutions a tool designed to grow and develop over time.
The Foundation’s voice: an interview with Maria Sciola
Maria Sciola, the artist’s daughter and founder of the Foundation, recounts the origins of the project and the profound significance of this act of digital remembrance, revealing how technology can become the guardian of an artistic legacy without betraying its original spirit.
Cover photo: Casa Pinuccio Sciola, Archivio Fondazione Sciola | ph. Ettore Cavalli
Artwork photos: Archivio Fondazione Sciola | ph. Nelly Dietzel
