The Director of the General Directorate for Digitalization and Communication is Dr. Andrea De Pasquale.
PhD in Book History from the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Sorbonne) in Paris, he served as Director of the Palatina Library in Parma (2008–2011), the Braidense National Library in Milan (2011–2014), and the National University Library of Turin (2008–2015), as well as Director of the National Central Library of Rome (2014–2021); from 2020 to 2021, he was Director of Service I – Research Office of the Directorate-General for Education, Research and Cultural Institutes, and was subsequently appointed Superintendent of the Central State Archives (2021–2023), then Director of the Directorate-General for Education, Research and Cultural Institutes (2023–2025).
He is also Scientific Director of the Bodonian Museum Foundation, a member of the Scientific Committee of the L. Firpo Foundation in Turin, as well as of the Scientific Committee of the Foundation for Jewish Cultural Heritage – National Library of Italian Judaism.
He has gained significant experience in teaching, collaborating with various academic institutions, including the École Nationale de Chartes in Paris, the University of Rome "La Sapienza," the University of Piemonte orientale, and the Universities of Bologna, Turin, Siena, and Cassino. He currently teaches at the "Guglielmo Marconi" University of Rome and the University of Roma Tre.
He is the author of numerous publications and essays, primarily focused on the history of the book, libraries, archives, and digitization.
With over twenty years of experience in planning technological and digital infrastructures, data protection, and digital transition, he has been involved in these areas since 2002, when he directed Service V – Research, Cataloging, Enhancement, and Education; Information and Document Systems of the Regional Directorate for Cultural Heritage of Piemonte, overseeing the computerization of all archive catalogs of the Superintendencies and the initiation of the electronic protocol.
The General Director was also responsible for the implementation of the pioneering European project Michael – Multilingual Inventory of Cultural Heritage in Europe in Piemonte, as well as the implementation of the European project Italian Culture Portal in the same region. Since then, he has been responsible for the CED and the ministerial project Fonia Dati Immagini, which in Piedmont included the creation of a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) for the Ministry's peripheral offices in Turin.
He has taught subjects related to digitization and informatics, including the course on Databases and Information Systems for Cultural Heritage at the Polytechnic University of Turin, as well as other lectures on digitization in university master's programs, including those at the University of Siena and the School of the Fondazione Scuola dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali.
He is an expert in the electronic protocol of the Ministry of Culture, which he has followed from its origins (ESPI), also serving as a trainer. Additionally, he holds a Master's degree in the management of current archives and the use of technological resources.
He was the national coordinator of the Google project, overseeing the cataloging and digitization work carried out in Italian libraries.
He created the digital repository of the National Central Library of Rome and the portals for Italian periodicals, "Emeroteca Nazionale." He also facilitated the integration of the catalog of the National Central Library into the global OCLC network. Furthermore, he was the executive director of the digitization project for the incunabula of the Subiaco Monastery, funded by the Polonsky Foundation.
At the National Central Library of Rome, he signed an important agreement with the National Central Library of Florence and the Marciana National Library for the management and maintenance of Digital Repositories, aimed at the long-term preservation of the digital collections of Italian libraries.
At the same institution, he conceived and designed the thematic portal on 20th-century literature, featuring digital resources related to bibliographic, archival, video, and audio materials, specifically aimed at schools and teacher training.
He is co-responsible, along with the Union of Italian Jewish Communities and the National Library of Israel, for the project of cataloging and digitizing the Jewish collections of libraries in Italy, funded by the Rothschild Foundation.
He is also a member of the project for the Portal of the Sources of the Republic, curated by the CNR (National Research Council) in collaboration with the Historical Archive of the Presidency of the Republic.
He was tasked with testing the digitization project and the creation of the Extense digital repository for the Estense Galleries, funded by the Cassa di Risparmio di Modena.
He is also a member of the scientific committee of the journal DigItalia – Rivista del digitale nei beni culturali of the ICCU.
He has led numerous digitization projects, including the digitization of the collections of Giambattista Bodoni; the cataloging and digitization of the renowned collection of autograph manuscripts, annotated volumes, and the correspondence of Alessandro Manzoni at the Braidense National Library; the digitization of original manuscript scores by Antonio Vivaldi at the National University Library of Turin; as well as the digitization of Verdi-related materials as part of the Verdi Portal project, funded by the Presidency of the Council.
At the Central State Archive, he created the digital library that was previously lacking, by digitizing all research tools that had until then been in paper format. Also at the Central State Archive, he conceived and is overseeing the advanced development of the digital portal DOC, dedicated to promoting Made in Italy, including Italian design and creativity, excellence in food and wine, architecture, archaeology, art, and cinema.
At DGERIC, he created the digital repository of the Directorate, overseeing the digitization projects for the Amori collection and the CLEM – Catalog of Medieval Bindings of ICPAL.
He is also the RUP for the Digital Library in the digitization project of cultural heritage – category "prints, drawings, and engraved matrices of the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica," in collaboration with Invitalia, as well as for the digitization project of the restoration archives of the central institutes (ICR, ICPAL, OPD).
He is an expert in the training, preservation, and consultation of digital documents, as well as in the reengineering and digitization of processes.
He has prepared all the project documentation for the creation of:
- A system for the medium-to-long-term preservation of digital archives produced by the central and peripheral structures of the Ministry of Culture (Intermediate Digital Archive of the Ministry of Culture);
- A system for the permanent preservation of the historical digital archives of the central and peripheral administrations of the State and national public entities, as well as private digital archives declared of historical interest (Digital Preservation Hub of the State Archives); – an application and architectural component containing common services for the two preservation systems, such as, for example, the registries, validation tools (signatures, seals, stamps), tools for user identification and authentication (IAM), and controls, checks, and validations.
Contacts
- E-mail: dg-dc.direzione@cultura.gov.it
Segreteria e Staff di Direzione
E-mail: dg-dc@cultura.gov.it
Tel: 06.48291 – 233 – 324 – 328
Any issues encountered on the website owned by the administration, in terms of compliance with accessibility principles, or regarding inaccessible information and/or requests for adjustments to the available IT systems, can be reported directly to this administration (as provided by Law No. 4 of January 9, 2004, updated by Decreto Legislativo 10 agosto 2018, n. 106, articolo 3-quater comma 2 lettera b) at the following email address: dg-dc@cultura.gov.it
Materials
Organizational chart of the Directorate-General for Digitalization and Communication (PDF)
Last updated: 09/09/2025