From the land the future - Journey through the 150 years of the Edmund Mach Foundation

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Agricultural Institute of San Michele all 'Adige, now the Edmund Mach Foundation, the exhibition re-reads the long history of the institution and its many activities in the agricultural, agri-food and environmental sectors, including education and training, scientific research, experimentation, consultancy and service to businesses.

Retracing the phases of an ever fertile dialogue between tradition and innovation, the path intertwines with a general look at the developments of the Trentino agrarian context, interpreted, without claiming completeness, through the subjectivity of five of the most important photographers and photographic studios active in the territory between the end of the 19th century and the third millennium.

The exhibition, curated by the Edmund Mach Foundation in collaboration with the Autonomous Province of Trento - UMSt Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and Activities and with the Centro Servizi Culturali Santa Chiara, is sponsored by the Euregio with the participation of the METS - Museo Etnografico Trentino di San Michele all 'Adige, the Fondazione Museo Storico del Trentino and the Castello del Buonconsiglio, provincial monuments and collections.
The initiative is part of the path of events dedicated to the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the WEF organized by the Committee chaired by Prof. Attilio Scienza, which will culminate on September 28, 2024 with the concluding ceremony.
On the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Agricultural Institute of San Michele all 'Adige, now the Edmund Mach Foundation, the exhibition, curated by Marta Villa and Katia Malatesta with the collaboration of Silvia Ceschini, Erica Candioli and Lucia Zadra, re-reads its genesis and evolution, focusing on its many activities in the sectors: agriculture, agri-food and environmental, between education and training, scientific research, experimentation, consultancy and business service.
Tracing the phases of an ever fertile dialogue between tradition and innovation, the path, with the exhibition project by architect Manuela Baldracchi, is intertwined with a general look at the developments of the Trentino agrarian context, interpreted, without claiming completeness, through the subjectivity of five of the most important photographers and photographic studios active in the territory between the end of the 19th century and the third millennium.

A 150-year long history

The history of the Institute began on 12 January 1874, when the Tyrolean Regional Diet of Innsbruck decided to activate an agricultural school in San Michele all 'Adige with an attached experimental station. The Institute was directed by Edmund Mach, a young and brilliant assistant at the Oenological and Pomological Institute of Klosterneuburg (Vienna). From the beginning, with an insight that will remain to characterise the entire subsequent history of the institution, the statute provided for the symbiosis between agricultural training and on-farm experimentation, in favour of the progress of Trentino agriculture. Under the masterful direction of Mach, the school of San Michele and the experimental station established themselves as a model institution and their fame soon crossed regional borders.
After Edmund Mach, other valid directors followed, among which the figures of Enrico Avanzi stand out, an academic professor who gave a strong scientific impulse to the Institute and to whom we owe the important activity in the cereal, fruit and wine sector, in which he was supported by the tireless work of Rebo Rigotti, a highly talented researcher who knew how to range in many fields, in particular in the genetic improvement of the vine (we owe to him the cross that was later baptized with his name, "Rebo").
At the end of the 1950s, the figure of Bruno Kessler emerged who, in his dual capacity as President of the Autonomous Province of Trento and of the Agricultural Institute, was able to develop the activities of the entity, understanding the fundamental value of agricultural sciences for the Trentino territory and beyond. It is above all thanks to Kessler that the school of San Michele in the 1970s was renewed and prepared for the challenges of modern times, developing, among other things, collaborations with other European scientific realities, especially in the German-speaking world.
In recent history the most significant date is January 1, 2008. The Agricultural Institute of San Michele all 'Adige, a functional entity of the Autonomous Province of Trento, was transformed into a Foundation, whose name paid tribute to its first and historic director, Edmund Mach. Thus, a new public-interest entity was born with legal personality under private law, also absorbing the activities of the Centre for Alpine Ecology, thus contributing to expanding the mandate in favour of environmental research.
Education and training, technology transfer and research in the agricultural, environmental and agri-food sectors are outlined as well as the three pillars of the new organisation. The Mach Foundation is today a "citadel of agriculture", a unique institution at national level: increasingly committed to disseminating studies in the areas of expertise but at the same time rooted in the territory. For 150 years, the mission has always been the same: to support agriculture, the environment and the territory by tackling new daily challenges through innovation.