The project
The scientific catalogue of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche is a large-scale project, born out of a desire to provide the museum with an advanced management tool for its collections and, at the same time, a structured repository of informative and scientific records accessible to the public.
The work began with a systematic review of the object records — drawn up in accordance with the national ICCD standards — and the collection of up-to-date information on the artists featured in the collections. This phase was followed by a rigorous process of data standardisation and cleansing, which lasted over two years, enabling the data to be entered into the Samira database alongside photographic images of the works.
The project, coordinated by Valentina Catalucci and Andrea Bernardini, involved the Gallery’s various professionals from the outset: Director Luigi Gallo, Giovanni Russo, Giulia Papini, Emanuela Capellacci and Stefano Brachetti. With technical support from the company Dot Beyond, the working group defined specific record types for the internal management of the collections — including the ArMs (Exhibition Archive), MOV (artwork movements) and C (conservation reports for restorers) — designed to optimise the workflows of museum technicians.
The records were expanded and revised by Leonora De Donno, who conducted a systematic survey of the historical and digital archive of the Gallery, with particular attention to the data required for compiling the ArMs and MOV records. The bibliography has been comprehensively expanded to cover the most significant works and is subject to continuous updating.
The database currently contains 8,717 records: 1,719 relating to works of art, 366 to drawings, 604 to prints and 468 to archaeological finds.
In preparation for the launch of the portal, the technical-scientific working group — comprising Valentina Catalucci, Giovanni Russo, Andrea Bernardini and Denis Morganti — has, over the past year, reviewed the public and scientific records of the artefacts on display in the recently refurbished rooms of the Palazzo Ducale, totalling over 280 records.
The number of entries made available to the public will be gradually increased, following a review conducted according to rigorous scientific criteria.
Each record is structured on two levels: a brief introductory text with technical details provides a descriptive and stylistic overview of the work, whilst further down in the entry readers will find detailed historical and critical information and an extensive bibliography, to assist those wishing to explore the subject further. The portal is hosted on the Gallery’s official website.