>ANSA-LA-STORIA/ A “digital fortress” from Italy for the memory of Lebanon

(ANSA) - ROMA, 17 OTT - Italy is taking custody of Lebanon’s memory and safeguarding it from war: through the “Archiving Lebanon’s Heritage” platform, launched at the National Library of Beirut, family photos, letters, maps, songs, and videos preserved by Lebanese people at home and by millions in the diaspora, as well as by travelers, collectors, and scholars from every country—can now be collected, screened, and transferred to the CNR’s servers, thousands of kilometers away from the hottest Mediterranean front of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. As Israeli bombings continue near archaeological sites in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, this marks the first time the protection of the country’s heritage has been entrusted to a participatory archive open to the entire world and hosted on European infrastructure. Meanwhile, over the weekend, an Italian-Lebanese mission traveled to Faqra, in the mountains north of Beirut, to begin a comprehensive 3D mapping of the Roman site. The initiative stems from scientific cooperation agreements signed in Parma between the Heritage International Institute (HII), the Italian institute for the protection of cultural heritage worldwide, founded in 2024 under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the General Directorate of Antiquities (DGA) of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture. At the launch, alongside Italian Ambassador Fabrizio Marcelli, were Minister of Culture Ghassan Salame, DGA Director Sarkis Khuri, and HII President Sergio Iovino. Conflicts, said Iovino, “may damage the stone of monuments, but they cannot erase the identity of a people if that people decides to preserve it.” Anyone who uploads a document will retain ownership of it, decide whether to keep it private or make it public, and choose how to sign it—including the option to remain anonymous. Files approved by a joint DGA-HII scientific committee will be stored in the federated “Dariah-It” infrastructure, coordinated by the CNR, with security protocols and long-term preservation measures. In Faqra, the Italian organizers plan to develop two protocols to be applied to other locations across the country: how to digitize a monument to prevent its loss and protect it permanently, and how to virtually reconstruct what has already been destroyed. The war and the Israeli occupation have caused damage in the Tyre region and the Baalbek area, both of which are World Heritage sites. The Beirut authorities have not yet completed their assessment of the damage, partly because the IDF maintains positions well beyond the border—occupying about 6% of Lebanese territory—and the raids on the south have never stopped. A request is also coming from the Lebanese project site, one that Beirut’s institutions are repeatedly emphasizing to their Italian counterparts: to open museums and cultural sites to people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. The same authorities report a sharp increase in autism diagnoses and are asking the HII—which has long been working on accessible museum experiences in Italy—to extend this initiative to Lebanon. The immediate next step will be the creation of the archive, month by month. The scientific committee will select the materials to be made publicly available and notify the donors; in twelve months, a group of “custodians” will be guests at an international gala in Rome, featuring three awards for the pillars of the project—tangible, intangible, and natural—from the cedar forests to the Qadisha Valley.
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