In 2019 the State Archive of Novara collaborated with the "Carlo Alberto” classical and language high school of Novara on a work experience project aimed at introducing students to archiving practices and methodologies. As part of the projects, the students tasked with cataloguing a number of files from the A/8 category of the Police Headquarters of Novara, also known as the "Sovversivi” (‘Subversives’), under the technical and scientific supervision of the State Archive Officer.
Thanks to the creation of a multimedia tool, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this project 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 who worked in the paddy fields in the 20th century.
The final video was published on the State Archive of Novara’s Facebook page and shared via the same channel as part of the “Archivissima” event, held online on 5 June 2020.
