Photos, brown coal, vintage lamps, videos and many other documents, artifacts and working tools (in the mine). These are the objects and images that have been found thanks to the collaboration between the Municipality of Figline and Incisa Valdarno, the Municipality of Cavriglia, Circolo Fotografico Arno, the Mine Museum and collector Emilio Polverini (Cavriglia) and will remain on display from Oct. 12 to Dec. 31 in the traveling exhibition entitled "A Mine for Valdarno. Community, work and landscapes between Cavriglia and Figline."
In particular, the Praetorian Palace in Figline will host the first stage of the exhibition, scheduled from October 12 to November 17. From Nov. 23 to Dec. 31, however, the exhibition will move to the Mine Museum in Cavriglia for its second and final stage.
The idea is to preserve the memory of the area, its workers and those who resided here until the 1970s, by analyzing how the presence of the mines (particularly that of Castelnuovo Sabbioni) impacted the Valdarno community and its landscape. To do so, we will focus on one of the least explored periods of mining activity, the 1960s-1970s, and then reflect on how (now decommissioned) mining sites can be redeveloped and reused . In addition to the exhibition-which in Figline will remain open to visitors on weekends and holidays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and is sponsored by the Metropolitan City of Florence, the Province of Arezzo and the Region of Tuscany-teaching workshops and themed meetings are planned, including the presentation of the book "San Donato in Avane" with author Filippo Boni (Oct. 30, 6 p.m. in the Sarri Room of Figline's Palazzo Pretorio; special opening of the exhibition to follow). In addition, midweek guided tours can be booked for schools in the area by writing to c.benedetti@comunefiv.it.
As for the opening day, the appointment is set at the Pretorio (Piazza San Francesco, Figline) at 5 p.m . when, in the Sarri Room, institutional greetings are scheduled by Mayors Giulia Mugnai (Figline and Incisa Valdarno) and Leonardo degl'Innocenti o Sanni (Cavriglia). Also speaking will be the president of the Arno Photographic Circle, Silvano Monchi, Paola Bertoncini (director Museo Mine, Cavriglia) and regional councillor Vincenzo Ceccarelli. This will be followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a guided tour of the exhibition, curated by collector and photographer Emilio Polverini.
"The exhibition is part of the cultural policies that this Administration promotes with a view to bringing back to memory the history of the area, drawing also and above all on the memories of those who live there and those who preserve its traces, photographic but not only ," explained the Mayor of Figline and Incisa Valdarno, Giulia Mugnai, and Councillor Francesca Farini. In addition, highlighting what the mine was and what it is today represents not only an opportunity to make it known, but also a way to reflect on how all too often the economy dictates the rules and rhythms of people's lives, even distorting the landscape in which they live and exhausting its resources. It is no coincidence that an entire section of the exhibition is dedicated precisely to the miners, for whom the mine was indeed a place of work, but above all a place for socializing, sharing and fighting for their rights . Together with Cavriglia, we are working to ensure that this piece of history will also be passed on to future generations, as an expression of an entire community; that is why we are working on shared projects, of which this exhibition is only a first concretization, functional to enhance the former mining area located close to the two municipalities."
