Conflicts, Borders and Nationalism: The Fiume Archive-Museum in Rome

The case study of the Fiume Museum-Archive set up by exiles in Rome helps reconsidering the role of museums to build cohesion and identity; the process of collecting in order to materialize the nation and cristallyze a center for the community; the construction of historical narratives on trauma, national belonging and contested heritage. It can also help reconsidering the issue of borders (geo-political; ethnic; linguistic;and disciplinary),anddiscussing the shifting between public history and the public use of history in the political arena.