Tra parole e immagini: la valorizzazione del patrimonio storico-educativo al Pio Istituto dei Sordi di Milano

The Pious Institute for poor country deaf mutes of Milan was opened in 1854 and quickly gained fame and stability, allowing it to operate continuously for the education of the deaf until the early 1990s when school activities ceased. Today, the legacy of the institution has been taken up by a Foundation, which in recent years has promoted various initiatives to enhance its historical-educational heritage. Firstly, a project was carried out to arrange and catalog the library and then a significant part of the photographic materials has been organized and digitized. This essay focuses on presenting both the sources and the projects. Moreover, it aims to specify how the easier access to the heritage allows the engagement of a wide variety of potential users and particularly of the Italian deaf community, facilitated in the process of defining its linguistic and cultural identity through the knowledge of its own history.