Search Guide
The portal of the Historical Archives of the Metropolitan City of Naples aims to be a primary access point for consultation and research of the archival heritage of the municipalities of the metropolitan area.
It describes: the archival complexes with their articulations; the subjects (organisations, individuals and families) that produced the records in the course of their activities; the subjects that conserve the archives; the research and bibliographical tools used to compile the descriptions.
There are also general fact sheets providing historical, institutional and archival information useful for understanding the context of the objects described.
It is possible to access the individual descriptive sheets and to delve, where present, into the digitalization of the documents.
Searching, via single field, can be done in several ways.
The free search, which returns the occurrences in which the chosen word or words are found (read as a textual string) through the “Search all Archives” feature.
Following each search, refinement facets are proposed in the left column. These are filters, options, that disaggregate the information, allowing contextual searching, by:
- Location
- Fonds
- Subject Producer / Entities
- Categories
- Subject Conservator
In case the facets have many alternatives, you can end the deepening via the “Show all” field.
Contextual research, through facets, effectively allows us to select information starting from general indices of the archival complexes, of the subjects who produced them (producing subjects) and of those who preserve them (conserving subjects), through the progressive refinement of the information.
By selecting the item of interest, the list proposes only the timely subset of records/entities with that characteristic. The use of facets can be progressive; for example, one can refine the list by first selecting the Fund, then the Preservation Subject, then the Category.
Each selected filter/facet is highlighted at the top of the screen, above the results list
Navigation by page numbers is also available at the bottom of the results list.
It is also possible to select one of the Historical Archives and orient the search only on this one
In the next image the single search field is proposed which, as indicated, “Search in the Municipal Historical Archives of the City of Naples.” , obviously in a similar way it is possible to search in the other Archives proposed in the Portal.
It should be noted that the index of each type of producer subject displays as a list of authority headers of those subjects. The authority headings compulsorily include a name and a date.
Through the “Contact” page, it is possible to get directly in touch with the Archivists to request information; the item can be reached directly from the top menu, top right.
As for the search tools, access to the content being published is immediate, direct, no “ad personam” dwellings are required.
Each result proposed in the list can be directly selected and be the subject of further study.
By selecting images, where published, the Portal provides a viewer that allows the user to delve into individual document content.
The Portal also contains the section the “Stories from the Archives“, here with short narratives the visitor is taken on a journey of memory, where the peculiarity of historical testimony enhances the extraordinary value and fascination of archival research. Recommended reading.
