fondazione101 ENG

the foundation

A Foundation For i.t. Heritage

The field of information technologies (colloquially referred to as “digital”) could be described as the fourth revolution in our shared history, following the agricultural, the industrial, and the energy revolutions: each has been a fundamental turning point that radically transformed society. Yet the importance and pervasiveness of information technologies—as well as the speed and scale of the changes unleashed by the digital revolution with the advent of A.I. and augmented reality—are unprecedented, elevating it to a dimension overarching the whole of human experience.
Hence the need to investigate the mechanisms of this seemingly unstoppable revolution, both through the understanding and implementation of new tools such as artificial intelligence, and through the preservation and dissemination of its history and the evolutionary paths of the machines that brought it forth. To preserve technological history in order to understand its dynamics, to understand its dynamics in order to govern change, and to make IT a tool in the service of humankind (and not the other way around): this is the trajectory laid out by Fondazione 101.

The Collection

Founded in the 1990s and currently housed at the corporate museum MMN M’useum, the collection today holds a scope and significance of European stature. It comprises more than 2,000 items of historical and scientific interest.
From mechanical and electronic calculators to the first transistor-based computers, from personal computers to game consoles, from prototypes to the highly successful machines that revolutionized life and work.

Its holdings include rare pieces (PDP 11/35), exceptional ones (the second unit of the Apple I), unique and priceless prototypes (the Xerox Alto), emblematic milestones (the Olivetti Programma 101), and replicas (Apple Knowledge Navigator), making it one of the most important and comprehensive collections in the country.

projects

OUR Activities

to Collect,
to Preserve,
to Narrate.

To collect, to preserve, to narrate—these are the guiding principles of Fondazione 101 in enhancing the value of our computing heritage.

To collect means identifying and acquiring both tangible and intangible testimonies of the history of computing.
To preserve means ensuring their protection and safeguarding their integrity over time.

To narrate means making this heritage accessible and comprehensible, fostering knowledge and awareness of the role that technological innovation has played—and continues to play—in society.

MMN M'useum

The museum of Fondazione 101’s collection, born within the walls of Magnetic Media Network S.p.A., is one of the most fascinating Italian collections of calculating machines and historic computers.

It offers a unique heritage that tells the story of the past, present, and future of technological disruptions—from the early computers of the 1960s to modern-day systems.

Computer Stories

Computer Stories is an exhibition retracing the recent history of computing through eight thematic scenes and dozens of original machines.

From the computers that won the war to the first home computers, from design to retrogaming, the exhibition highlights the innovations, intuitions, and failures that transformed technology into a daily companion.

More than an exhibition of objects, it is a journey into the digital culture that has made possible the present in which we live.

MORE TO COME...

T.B.A.

the vision

our vision

To transmit to future generations the tangible and intangible heritage of information technologies is an act of cultural and civic responsibility: it means acting as a continuous laboratory, open to the contemporaneity of knowledge, techniques, and the arts, fostering their conscious integration into the digital age, oriented toward the common good and in service of society. In this way, technological knowledge becomes a driving force for inclusion, progress, and democratic growth.

mission

THE COMMITMENT OF FONDAZIONE 101

Recognizing the tangible and intangible heritage it safeguards as a common good, promoting the participation and well-being of the community, to which the Foundation is devoted.

Developing a sustainable system of educational and museum offerings, safeguarding local identities and designing programs capable of reaching and engaging a wide variety of audiences.

Enhancing the computing heritage—both analog and digital—through the growth, preservation, cataloguing, and study of the collections, in collaboration with institutions rooted in the territory or active on a broader scale within the fields of material culture and technical-scientific knowledge.

Framing digital technologies as one of the principal matrices of contemporary society, planning activities in line with sector trends (e.g., A.I./A.R.) and positioning the Foundation as a contemporary institution.

Promoting research on digital culture from technical, historical–scientific, and environmental perspectives, in collaboration with research centers, universities, enterprises, and the educational system.

Promoting social capital and young local talent through education, self-empowerment, acquisition of STEM skills and life skills, positioning the museum as a dynamic competence center in constant evolution.

Disseminating knowledge of the history of computing and digital culture through exhibitions, lectures, conferences, workshops, and research, exploring their technical-scientific, socio-historical, and environmental dimensions.

The collaboration

Fondazione 101 acts and collaborates with diverse partners in the museum, cultural, and industrial sectors with the goal of supporting dissemination, preservation, and enrichment of the Italian cultural landscape in the field of computing. Particular attention is devoted to fostering the growth of young talent and the social capital of the territory, by promoting pathways of education, skills development, and life skills.

The Foundation also seeks to strengthen the recognition of information technologies as part of industrial heritage, making museums and sites more attractive through collaborations with experts in industrial archaeology.

MASSIMO NEGRI - E.M.A.

An internationally renowned museologist, founder and scientific director of the Master’s program in European Museology at IULM University, and now President of the European Museum Academy, a Netherlands-based foundation specializing in research on museum innovation and new methods of dissemination within the European cultural landscape.

ASSOCIAZIONE CRESPID'ADDA
O.D.V.-E.T.S.

The association Crespi d’Adda ODV ETS has long been active in promoting the famous Bergamo UNESCO site tied to the Italian industrial revolution. It has developed specific expertise in the production and management of cultural-tourism and educational activities, as well as in museographic production and the creation of digital tools for heritage interpretation.

T-essere s.r.l.

T-essere srl is a small publisher specializing in labor literature, historical photography, and archival documentation, has so far focused its editorial production on the UNESCO site of Crespi d’Adda.

Fondazione museo dell' industria e del lavoro

Musil is the first Italian museum dedicated to industrialization as a phenomenon that reshaped society as a whole, represented through a wide variety of materials conceptually organized in a unified manner. Its various locations across the territory enrich and articulate the museum’s content, anticipating a region-wide system modeled on the best European examples.

Associazione culturale retrocampus

Founded in 2014, the cultural association Retrocampus is dedicated to the history of computing—its study, dissemination, and preservation—through the collection and maintenance of historic IT equipment and related documentation.

Magnetic Media Network S.p.a.

Active since 1989, MMN S.p.A. is a leader in the distribution of IT services and solutions in the B2B sector, the first Apple Authorized Enterprise Reseller in Italy, and today part of the Bechtle Europe Group. MMN S.p.A. hosts much of the Fondazione 101 collection in its corporate museum M’useum, and shares its objectives and activities in the fields of culture and company heritage.

OUR NETWORK

Foundations/Associations

European Museum Academy, ENAIP Lombardia, F.I.E.B., Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione della Comunità Bergamasca, Associazione Archivio Storico Olivetti, associazione BergamoScienza, Associazione Culturale Retrocampus, Associazione Retroedicola videoludica