README

The "Revolussion" of Renzo Renzi
Information Science and Cultural Heritage – University of Bologna (2024–2025)
Instructors: Marilena Daquino and Francesca Tomasi

Overview

The "Revolussion" of Renzo Renzi is a digital humanities project dedicated to exploring the archival and cultural ecosystem built by Renzo Renzi (1919–2004): film critic, curator, writer, and one of the key figures behind the creation of the Cineteca di Bologna.

The project investigates Renzi's analogue "web of cinema knowledge" by studying 15 heterogeneous cultural heritage items conserved at — or connected to — the Renzo Renzi Collection.

The project integrates:

• TEI/XML scholarly encoding of a textual item
• XSLT transformation for online publication
• CSV-based metadata extraction from institutional standards
• Semantic modelling and LOD / RDF production
• Reuse of CH standards and ontologies
• Unified web interface published with GitHub Pages

The goal is to transform an analogue archive into a Linked Open Data ecosystem, while documenting the methodological steps behind data modelling in DH.

Project Structure

csv/                  → Metadata tables for all items + authority entity registry
          scripts/              → Python scripts (CSV → RDF transformation and merging)
          tei_xslt/             → TEI XML + XSLT stylesheet
          ttl/                  → Individual RDF files + full_dataset.ttl
          html/                 → Transformed TEI HTML
          img/                  → Photographs, stills, visual materials
          index.html            → Website home
          project-documentation.html
          style.css
          README.md

A full explanation of the workflow is provided in Project Documentation.

Objectives

1. Define a coherent thematic scope (Renzo Renzi and his network around La Strada and the Renzo Renzi Collection).
2. Extract metadata using authoritative CH standards:
   • ISBD(G), ISBD(NBM)
   • ICCD Scheda F, ICCD Scheda OA
   • FIAF rules for audiovisual items
   • ISAD(G) for archival documents
3. Encode a text item in TEI P5 and publish it through XSLT.
4. Develop a conceptual model by reusing: Dublin Core Terms, Schema.org, FOAF, SKOS, OWL (RiC-O and CIDOC CRM used as conceptual references)
5. Generate an integrated RDF dataset (full_dataset.ttl).
6. Publish the whole project on the web via GitHub Pages.

Selected Cultural Heritage Items

The dataset includes 15 items, structured as:

• Book / full text — Il primo Fellini (ISBD(G))
• TEI-encoded screenplay excerpt
• 4 photographs (ICCD Scheda F)
• 2 drawings / caricatures (ICCD Scheda OA)
• Sound recording — La Strada soundtrack (ISBD NBM)
• Audiovisual interview (FIAF)
• Documentary film — Quando il Po è dolce
• Renzo Renzi Library (ICCU / ISIL identification)
• Family photo / set photo (Scheda F)

For each item, the project includes:

• CSV metadata
• Source standard
• Holding institution
• URI references (VIAF/Wikidata)
• RDF representation
• Links to related items (interlinking)

Contributors

• Laura Bortoli laura.bortoli@studio.unibo.it GitHub: lauraaa13
• Claudia Romanello claudia.romanello@studio.unibo.it GitHub: claudiarom
• Qinghao Chen qinghao.chen@studio.unibo.it GitHub: River-Qinghao

All project members contributed collaboratively to metadata extraction, TEI encoding, RDF modelling, Python scripting, and interface development.