Museum Archaeological Collection Storage: reassessing needs and priorities

Despite the ever-increasing attention paid to museums, the storage plays a marginal role: an invisible resource, whose potential is often little explored and/or valued. What is the situation of archaeological museum storage in Italy? Some reflections are presented here, rising from the results of a recent statistical survey conducted by the writer during her doctoral research project at the University of Ferrara, in collaboration with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and with the National Association of Local and Institutional Museums.