Collecting and Identity. Meanings and Interpretations

Kapitola

The Impermanence of Identity: Constructing National Narratives in Italy’s Art and Archaeological Museums

Rok vydání: 2026

https://doi.org/10.5817/CZ.MUNI.P280-0874-2026-5

Abstrakt

The study investigates the role of art and archaeological museums in the construction of national narratives and collective identities in Italy. It examines how museums have contributed to shaping ideas of national belonging through the selection, interpretation, and presentation of cultural heritage. At the same time, the study highlights the changing and impermanent character of such identities, demonstrating that museum narratives are continually redefined in response to political, cultural, and social developments. By analysing the relationship between collections and national identity, the paper reveals museums as dynamic institutions in which competing interpretations of the past are negotiated and reconfigured.

Klíčová slova

Italy, museums, national identity, cultural heritage, collecting