Fare nuove le cose. Patrimonio culturale e narrazione, uno sguardo pluridisciplinare
S. Bodo, S. Mascheroni, M. G. Panigada (eds.), Mimesis Edizioni, 2024

Fare nuove le cose explores the social value of cultural heritage and its narration from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, ranging from anthropology to sociology, from museology to the pedagogy of conflict, marginality and deviance.
In the view of the different contributors, telling stories can be an important exercise in community building, an antidote to detachment and disenchantment, a form of attentiveness towards the issues of justice, and of resistance to the flow of fixed truths and official narratives.
Taking care of stories involves expanding our ability to look deeply and to create spaces for listening, amplifying “the words of those individuals who do not have access to public expression, whether historical or narrative, creative and aesthetic”, reestablishing meaningful bonds between people and heritage, and between people through heritage: a living body which should be literally questioned, disrupted, and processed, so that we keep breathing new life into it, so that it is always in a nascent state.

Nutrire la comunità. Il cibo come strumento di cura e relazione
S. Bodo, M. G. Panigada (eds.), Monti Edizioni, 2024

The twelve stories published in this book explore the countless narratives revolving around food: a human right, but also a “creative gift”, an experience of conviviality and social cohesion, and a vehicle of connection/communion with the Earth.
Through the involvement of other organisations operating in Bergamo’s territory, the original idea of the Aiuto per l’Autonomia association – promoting its own activities in support of vulnerable people – turned into a multivocal narrative about the importance of food not only as a basic need, but also as a powerful vehicle of social justice and community-building.
Creating these narrative trails was an opportunity for the twelve storytellers not only to expand their ability to look and to listen, but also to take care of others, to pay them attention, to foreground the dignity of voices and stories, to create and strengthen the connections between individuals through the extraordinary intangible heritage they embody. Thereby actively taking part in an intergenerational passing of the torch, but also reinforcing the precious networks whose richness and strength are vital for community wellbeing.

Raccontare il sociale attraverso l’arte
L. Cecio, M. G. Panigada (eds.), Lubrina Bramani editore, 2024

Raccontare il sociale attraverso l’arte is a project by the Department of Social Policies of the City of Bergamo, curated by Patrimonio di Storie. Its aim is to guide social workers in a self-reflective journey triggered by an inner dialogue with the Accademia Carrara’s artworks: a unique opportunity for the eighteen storytellers to revisit their professional lives and daily encounter with vulnerability through the lens of cultural heritage.
The resulting publication is structured to follow the museum’s visitor path, making it an engaging guide for readers as they explore the collections and uncover fresh perspectives and new meanings.
The whole process clearly shows the transformative potential of storytelling in heritage/caretaking contexts, charting a new way forward for cultural welfare.

Lascio in eredità me stesso alla terra. Fare memoria tra volontariato e patrimonio culturale
S. Bodo, S. Mascheroni, M. G. Panigada (eds.), Masso delle Fate, 2021

I bequeath myself to the dirt. Making memory of volunteer work through cultural heritage is the result of a long journey started in summer 2020, when the Service Centre for Volunteering of Bergamo made a bold decision: to hold up cultural heritage as a “mirror” to local volunteer associations, who were dramatically affected both in their ability to keep providing their services during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and by the tragic death toll in their own ranks. Making memory of their treasured role in supporting local communities became imperative, so as not to see it fade away.
In the book, forty-six volunteers from as many associations gathered by seven thematic areas (environment, cultural rights, disability, immigration, poverty, health, third age) interweave their individual stories with the beauty of the land and its heritage sites.
Drawing inspiration from a verse by Walt Whitman, this great collective effort celebrates the legacy of a deeply rooted solidarity network, in Bergamo and far beyond.

Dipingere a parole. Storie circolari del Chianti e del Valdarno
S. Mascheroni, N. Matteuzzi, M. G. Panigada (eds.), Masso delle Fate Edizioni, 2019

Words for pictures. Circular stories in Chianti and Valdarno goes through the experience of six storytellers who reinterpreted the works of art they take care of every day, and described the deep connection with their living environment and cultural landscape. In this way, paintings and sites speak through the voice of their beholder, become a mirror to convey individual stories, interweave century-old stories with precious intimate memories. The integral texts of the six stories are accompanied by the essays of project team members and external experts (museum professionals, academics, theatre actors…), retracing the process and outcomes of the whole experience, highlighting the language of storytelling as a crucial vehicle to breathe new life into museum collections and heritage sites which are often forgotten or neglected, and reflecting on the potential of creating new connections between the story of artworks and individual biographies.

Un patrimonio di storie. La narrazione nei musei, una risorsa per la cittadinanza culturale
S. Bodo, S. Mascheroni, M. G. Panigada (eds.). Mimesis Edizioni, 2016

A heritage of stories. Storytelling in museums, a resource for cultural citizenship was first envisioned as an opportunity to take stock and reflect on the growing impact of storytelling in cultural heritage interpretation and mediation processes, as well as on its potential to trigger a new awareness of the meaningful relationships that every individual can create with objects apparently as “remote” from daily life as those preserved in a museum.

This volume was conceived primarily as a work tool for museum professionals, educators and social operators working with adults in different contexts.

And yet, through the voice of its real protagonists, i.e. storytellers, A heritage of stories becomes a collection of stories which will fascinate every reader.