In 2019 the State Archive of Novara collaborated with the "Carlo Alberto” classical and language high school of Novara on a work experience project with the aim of teaching students about archiving and the methods involved. To this end, the students were asked to catalogue a number of files from the A/8 category of the Police Headquarters of Novara, also known as the "Sovversivi” (‘Subversives’), with the technical and scientific support of the serving State Archive Officer.
Thanks to the creation of a multimedia tool, during the COVID-19 pandemic this work was carried out from home with the aim of telling the story of Novara’s female rice weeders (the mondine). The students analysed the documents of the Gabinetto (Cabinet office) archive of the Prefecture of Novara, which preserves important accounts of the rights claimed by women that worked in the paddy fields in the 20th century.
Finally, the video was published on the Facebook page of the State Archive of Novara, and disseminated via the same channel as part of the “Archivissima” event held online on 5 June 2020.
