2026 marks several important milestones for the Theatre of Gianni and Cosetta Colla, a leading institution in Milanese and international puppet theatre: the 120th anniversary of Gianni Colla’s birth, the 90th anniversary of Cosetta Colla’s birth, and the 80th anniversary of the Company’s debut of its modern repertoire. To celebrate these milestones, APICE - the centre responsible for the preservation, protection and scientific enhancement of the Colla Archive - is organising a study day devoted to the themes of memory and innovation.
The event, coordinated by Vincenzo Pernice, will take place on 19 February in the Sala Malliani (Via Festa del Perdono). It will also provide an opportunity to present the outcomes of the PNRR Marionette 3.0 project. Open to students, academic staff and the wider public, the study day will be also streamed online.
Innovation: the PNRR Marionette 3.0 Project. Carried out between 2024 and 2025 as part of the PNRR CHANGES project (Spoke 2), this research initiative, led by the Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage at the University of Milan, explored new ways of enhancing archival heritage. By combining artificial intelligence, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), the Colla Archive has been transformed into an immersive digital environment, offering innovative ways to engage with the material that balance the rigour of preservation with the visual and experiential impact of performance.
Project aim: to extend the archive beyond its traditional boundaries and make its contents accessible in immersive and engaging ways to both adults and children, using web3 technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. “CHANGES young talents”- illustrators, AI artists and 3D artists recruited through dedicated calls - contributed to the project, enabling new, contemporary forms of artistic creation to emerge from the historical archive.
Marionette 3.0 also served as the pilot project for Immersinscena, an integrated methodology for enhancing theatre archives through immersive technologies, which was recognized with a CHANGES Award in 2025. The researchers and collaborators are now in the process of establishing a start-up to carry these activities forward beyond the conclusion of the PNRR programme.
