Archivio fotografico

Audio description

We are standing in front of this building, once the town’s municipal slaughterhouse and now home to the photographic archive of Premilcuore. It is the photographs themselves that tell us the more recent history of this small town, which until 1922 belonged to the territory of Romagna Toscana.

While the origins of Premilcuore are still wrapped in legends—such as the story of the Roman soldier Marcello, who found refuge here after fleeing Rome because he had become entangled in a conspiracy against Emperor Caracalla—its more recent past is preserved in the images kept within these walls.

One of these old photographs vividly shows just how different the landscape once appeared from this very spot. Until the 1920s, the area consisted of barren, lifeless stretches of land, the result of ruthless tree felling and the use of the land for grazing—activities carried out for many years by the local population.

Thanks to growing environmental awareness, these lands were later “retransformed” into forested areas through extensive reforestation efforts. The trees we see today are the result of reforestation that began in 1922 and continued through the 1950s and 1970s, up until 1980.

Is your curiosity satisfied now? I don’t think so. Then step virtually into the archive. There you will discover the history of Premilcuore—and much more.