The Tech Issue
ARCHIVIO opens its third editorial cycle: four thematic issues, each curated by a Guest Editor with deep expertise, offering access to worlds where past, present, and future converge.
The third issue, ARCHIVIO N°11, focuses on technology and is curated by Massimo Banzi, co-founder of Arduino, together with Cecilia Botta, technology historian and Head of Memories at Promemoria Group, the magazine’s publisher. Daniela Hamaui oversees editorial direction, while Alessandro Gori shapes the art direction.
The cover, designed by artist Ailadi, pays tribute to the early aesthetics of the digital age. Created using PETSCII, the character set of Commodore 8-bit computers, it evokes the visual language of technology in its formative years.
ARCHIVIO N°11 maps the international landscape of technology archives, tracing the roots of the digital revolution and exploring the places where our technological past is preserved, along with the collectors and institutions that recognized its cultural value.
The issue is structured in three sections — Stories, Institutions, Collectors & Collectives — and includes a special poster: an (in)complete mapping of Italy’s technology archives, researched by Promemoria Group and visually interpreted by Accurat.
Massimo Banzi,“Often the most important innovations are the ones people talk about the least. The 6502 powered machines that defined a generation: these computers processed dreams, turning teenagers into programmers and hobbyists into entrepreneurs.”
Guest Editor
Glimpse of the Month
Preserving the Cultural Heritage of Soft Electronics
By Jaro Gielens
It all started years ago, when I first began to notice a forgotten world—a world of small kitchen appliances, those soft electronics from the mid-20th century. There was something about them: their vibrant designs, the colors, the materials, and the unique way they captured the essence of their time. I was hooked. My journey into collecting these items began almost as a way to document something I felt was missing, something overlooked by the broader world. Little did I know, this interest would transform into something much larger—something that would consume me for years to come. Before Soft Electronics, I had already deepdived into the world of collecting. My first focus was handheld electronic games—those simple but addictive gadgets from the late ’70s and ’80s.
