Primary school
Discovering the Archive means entering a world of stories, documents, secrets and treasures on paper.
The activities for primary school are designed to introduce children to writing, memory and the history of Lecce through hands-on activities, games and storytelling. Each workshop is preceded by a guided tour, with language and materials tailored to spark curiosity about history and culture.
The Archive becomes a place to explore with eyes, hands and imagination.
The Invention of Kuta
Why do we write? What is writing? Who invented it? Who wrote, and how, in ancient times? How has writing changed, and why, over the centuries?
This workshop explores the history of writing and writing tools. Children are taken on a journey through the evolution of writing, experimenting with wax tablets, quill pens and seals.
Duration: 2 hours
Let’s Make Paper
Workshop activity, preceded by a visit to the Archive
A hands-on workshop to discover how a sheet of paper is made. Children learn ancient techniques of manual production, transforming fibres and water into a real handmade sheet. A creative experience that brings together manual skills, curiosity and history.
Small-Scale Restoration Workshop
Workshop activity, preceded by a visit to the Archive
During their visit, children will be shown documents, registers and folders in need of small “maintenance” interventions. This is a chance to highlight the unique value of memory preserved in documents and the importance of conservation and restoration practices. The workshop introduces children to traditional craft techniques of bookbinding and minor restoration, also using recycled materials.
I Am the Archive
Workshop activity, preceded by a visit to the Archive
By stepping into the shoes of a curious young archivist, participants follow a path of discovery, observing the external features of documents and learning to read them. They experience the fascination of historical research through a new, playful and creative approach — one that encourages them to build their own memory and personal archive.
Paper Treasure Hunt
Workshop activity, preceded by a visit to the Archive
The Historical Archive of Lecce offers its very first “treasure hunt” — or rather, a “Paper Treasure Hunt”!
The game takes place in spaces normally closed to the public: the Archive’s storerooms, as mysterious as they are close to the life of the city. Divided into teams, children receive a map to find their way through the paper labyrinth and search for clues hidden among registers, volumes and folders. But beware: jealous guardians of the Archive are always on the lookout, with futuristic traps scattered across the rooms! The first team to avoid being caught and solve all the clues will “unlock History” and uncover a mystery directly from the “voice of the protagonist”.
Through play, all participants will discover the richness of Lecce’s cultural heritage preserved in the Historical Archive.
The Archive of Wishes
Attività laboratoriale preceduta da visita all’archivio
This workshop introduces children to the cultural and historical heritage preserved in the Archive, conveying both the importance and the “magic” of the documents, which contain and recount the city’s stories while highlighting its social and artistic aspects.
Children will listen to stories about Lecce: how it was built, the shapes and colours of the past, with the aim of showing the importance of history and memory, and fostering a sense of belonging to the city through its identity, while stimulating creativity.
Starting from the reading and observation of selected documents, children will use different materials (paper, card, netting, acetate, etc.) to create collages and drawings that reconstruct Lecce suspended between the past city (as evoked by the documents), the present city (their daily experience) and the imagined city (the Lecce of their wishes). Each child’s work will then be kept in a “treasure chest of wishes”. These imaginative reconstructions will come together to form a large collective work: Lecce as imagined by its children.
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