For a participatory culture: the experience of Archeòtipo srl and the Poggibonsi Archaeodrome (Italy, prov. Siena)

The Poggibonsi Archaeodrome, presented by Marco Valenti and Federico Salzotti, is a project backed by the Siena Museums Foundation and the City of Poggibonsi, that started in 2014 with a small share of public funds. The project pursues an in-progress full scale reconstruction of the 17 structures found during the excavation of a Carolingian Age village in Poggibonsi, aiming not simply at rebuilding features, but at creating «a real “Archaeodrome experience”, making it a place where people can learn while having fun, getting in direct contact with the materiality of history by living and experimenting it». The Poggibonsi Archaeodrome, that is now managed by Archeòtipo srl, has witnessed an immediate success in terms of visitors and followers, as well as gaining the attention of national and local mass media.