ARCHIVE. — Etymologically derived from *archē* (Greek: ἀρχή), meaning the palace of the magistrate where the acts of the magistracy were kept. Among the Greeks, however, it was called *archēion* (ἀρχεῖον), *apothēkē tōn grammatōn* (ἀποθήκη τῶν γραμμάτων), or simply *archivion* (ἀρχεῖον).
In Latin, it appears as *archium*, *archivum*, *tabularium*, *grapharum*, *chartularium* or *chartarium publicum*, *sacram*, *scrinium*, etc.
In its proper sense, by "archive" we mean a collection of acts concerning an individual or a community, organized to safeguard administrative, political, and legal interests or for the purpose of pure historical documentation. Archives are generally classified, from various perspectives, into general and particular, active and inactive, current and depository. Based on their origin, the main classification is into civil archives and ecclesiastical archives.
I. CIVIL ARCHIVES
Among the Italian civil archives, the following are noteworthy:1. State archives, which are under the direct supervision of the Ministry of the Interior through the Higher Council of Archives and the Board operating within the Council. They include:
a) The Archive of the Republic, located in Rome, which primarily collects archival material from the ministries of the central government.
b) The State Archives, numbering 20, located in the principal Italian cities. Of these, the nine largest (Turin, Genoa, Milan, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Palermo) exercise supervisory functions over all minor archives within a specific regional jurisdiction under their competence.
c) The State Archive Sections, numbering 74, established in the capitals of the various provinces, each under the jurisdiction of the respective Superintendency of Archives for their territory.
2. Archives of non-state public entities, including those of autonomous bodies, municipalities and provinces, para-state entities, auxiliary state institutions, public credit institutions, public associations, trade unions, and public welfare and charitable institutions, etc.
3. Notarial archives, which are distinguished into district, mandamental, and communal archives, unless they exist as sections of State Archives or State Archive Sections.
4. Private archives, which are also subject by law to special oversight by the Superintendency of Archives for the district to which they belong.
The current legal framework for archives is governed by Law No. 2006 of December 22, 1939.
II. ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHIVES
Among ecclesiastical archives, the following are noteworthy: the Pontifical Archive, the diocesan archive, the parochial archive, and other minor archives.1. Pontifical Vatican Archive (v. VATICAN, ARCHIVE).
2. Diocesan archive
In every episcopal curia, there exists a diocesan archive, divided into two distinct sections: the public and the secret. It contains and preserves acts, instruments, and writings concerning diocesan affairs, both spiritual and temporal, all of which must be recorded in the catalog or inventory of the archive itself.The public section contains acts and writings accessible to anyone with a legitimate interest.
The secret section carefully preserves those acts which, either by their nature or by legal prescription, must remain secret. Only the bishop or the apostolic administrator may open and examine the secret archive alone. In the event of a vacancy in the episcopal see, the custody of the secret archive is subject to special regulations.
The canonical legislation regarding the diocesan archive is contained in canons 372-384 of the Code of Canon Law.
3. Parochial archive
Canon 470, §4, obliges every parish priest to maintain a parochial archive, the maintenance and custody of which constitutes a grave duty, subject to severe penal sanctions (canons 2383, 2406). It contains the parochial registers (v.), the register of the state of souls, acts and official communications from the ordinary and the curia, official correspondence, and any other writings deemed necessary or useful to preserve; it also includes registers, uninventoried writings, and documents concerning the church or parochial benefice, with separate inventories (canons 1522, n. 3; 1523, n. 6; Circular of the Sacred Congregation of the Council, September 20, 1929).The parochial archive is also subject to the obligation of maintaining an inventory, of which a copy must be deposited in the diocesan archive (canon 383). Apart from secret documents, the parochial archive is accessible to the public (canon 384).
4. Other ecclesiastical archives to be noted include: the archives of cathedrals and collegiate churches (chapter archives); the archives of confraternities and pious works dependent on ecclesiastical entities, which are also required to maintain inventories, with a copy deposited in the diocesan archive (canon 383); and the archives of religious institutes, abbeys, monasteries, and convents.
Zaccaria da S. Mauro