During this school year, the Pirelli Foundation again took part in “A scuola d’impresa – L’Italia nei nostri musei e archivi d’impresa” (At Business School – Italy in Our Corporate Museums and Archives), promoted by Museimpresa in collaboration with LIUC – Cattaneo University. Recognised as the FSL (Formazione Scuola Lavoro), the initiative involved students in their first three years of secondary school, with the aim of introducing younger generations to the history and values of Italian companies through the heritage preserved in company museums and archives.

As part of this project, the Pirelli Foundation presented “Storie di sport Pirelli tra parola e fotografia” (Pirelli Sports in Words and Photographs). The journey began with a visit to the exhibition The Sports Workshop, followed by an exploration of the extensive photographic collection held in the Foundation’s historical archive. By observing and analysing both historical and contemporary images, students from the Bassi technical institute in Lodi discovered the close link between Pirelli and the world of sport – from car and motorcycle racing to cycling, sailing, and sports for employees. They reflected on sport as a vehicle for participation, innovation, and corporate welfare.

After this initial phase of discovery, the students worked in groups, choosing photographs from the exhibition and transforming them into stories. With enthusiasm, curiosity, and a strong collaborative spirit, they took on the challenge of creative writing, writing stories that convey the emotion, context, and atmosphere of the sporting events captured in the images.

Their work resulted in four intriguing stories, each dedicated to a sporting discipline linked to Pirelli’s history – Formula 1, rallying, sailing, and motorcycling. Set between past and present, these tales weave together history and story-telling, drawing the audience into the rhythm of the races, the roar of engines, the tension of competition, and the passion of athletes and fans alike.

The students then made audio recordings of the texts, which became an integral part of the exhibition. Visitors to The Sports Workshop exhibition at the Pirelli Foundation can listen to these stories directly within the display until mid-July, letting the students’ voices guide them on a narrative voyage through images, sport, and corporate history.

The experience proved to be not only educational but also deeply engaging. The students took part with great enthusiasm, developed a passion for working with archival material, and thoroughly enjoyed turning photographs into stories. Once again, this shows how a company’s historical heritage can become a living resource – capable of sparking creativity, encouraging critical thinking, and inspiring new ways of recounting the past.