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This paper is focused on two main topics which influence the contemporary and on-going debate about museums (and, among others, city museums): the existence of a collection and of a building dedicated to housing it. Then it deals with the question of the size of cities selected for the establishment of a city museum (large or small centres). Finally, the use of documentary, iconographical, cartographical sources and multimedia tools for the representation of urban changes over a long period of time is considered from the point of view of the necessity to communicate with a broad range of users (for example, tourists, citizens, new immigrants, children). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Currently, the study and the exhibition of the history and artistic traces of city development are gaining new interest. Several Italian and European cities are proposing, or have just established, organisations or museums intended to 'display' their past. Recently a research group has been constitued at the University IUAV of Venice based on the premiss that a contemporary City Museum has to be a conduit for knowledge to a large and varied public including, on equal terms: citizens, immigrants, tourists and people with cultural and professional interests in the urban environment. In this sense Venice seems to be a very good clase-study. While an important initiative, such as the constitution of a new Museum of the twentieth century in Mestre (the mainland of Venice) is going on, the research group thinks that this kind of institution, within the framework of a very complex and rich system of museums, such as the Venetian one, could have a wide remit. In fact, one of the special key issues for Venice in the twentieth century has been opening up its cultural and productive activities to the external world. Foreigner visitors, as well as many citizens have always had the vision of Venice as a medieval and renaissance city with a very old historical centre. Yet in the course of the twentieth century, the urban settlement had greatly changed in a very interesting and innovative way. This has to be explained and shown to both tourists and the Venetians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views regarding the commitment of "displaying the past" when it is linked to an urban community. Recently, a research group formed by the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia (IUAV) has undertaken this work. They set the premise that a contemporary city museum has to be a conductor of knowledge to a large a varied public, including, in equal terms, citizens, immigrants, tourists visiting on short or long term basis, and people with cultural and professional interests in the urban environment.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses several articles published in the present issue on topics related to city museums in Europe and Asia, collective memory, museum methodologies, museum techniques, architectural museums, laboratory museums, historical and art collections, collective memory and archaeological museums.