A new and prestigious collaboration has taken shape between MeMo – Memory of Montecassino and the MAGIC project of the University of Naples Federico II, marking an important step toward building a national network devoted to the digital preservation of manuscript heritage.

Within the framework of the PON MAGIC initiative, the “Ettore Pancini” Department of Physics at Federico II launched a selection for two research grants dedicated to the digital acquisition of the fragments belonging to the Compactiones collection of the Montecassino Archive, as well as their metadata enrichment and the preparation of the images for joint publication in the digital libraries of both MAGIC and MeMo.

An unprecedented meeting point between humanistic expertise and scientific innovation, grounded in the unique context of Montecassino.

Through this selection process, two members of the MeMo team – Ylenia Nardone and Giuseppina Civitillo – were chosen as ideal candidates to lead the digitization activities: a significant recognition of the high-level skills developed within MeMo, which in recent years has cultivated advanced expertise in manuscript digitization and the management of complex archival materials.

This collaboration has also been made possible thanks to the acquisition, by the Department of Physics at Federico II, of a new Zeutschel scanner (OS 15000), a state-of-the-art device that will enable the capture of the fragile Compactiones fragments with exceptional precision, in full compliance with international standards for conservation and image quality.

Beyond its technical aspects, this initiative represents a meaningful step in building an inter-university academic synergy, demonstrating how digital research on written heritage can serve as a bridge between disciplines, methods, and institutions. With its millennial history and the richness of its archival collections, Montecassino once again proves to be a crossroads of collaboration and an ideal laboratory for innovative work where cutting-edge technologies and traditional philological knowledge interact seamlessly.

For MeMo, this partnership marks an important milestone: it confirms that the expertise developed over the years – through digitization, description, standardization, training, and high-level specialization – has generated skills now recognized and sought after at the national level.

A result that strengthens the project’s mission: building openness, shared knowledge, and meaningful access, giving new life to some of the most fragile and significant materials of the Cassinese heritage. This new endeavour launched together with MAGIC is only the beginning of a growing network centered on collaboration, interdisciplinary research, and the enhancement of Italy’s cultural heritage.