Although many innovations have been introduced, the Foundation's work still revolves around its two original structures: a library with an international dimension, which has strengthened its primary function of providing support to public institutions by becoming part of a national and international network of libraries; and a historical archive that is also part of a network, “Twentieth Century Archives”, an institution with researchers from various disciplines.

 

In the Foundation's activities there has always been a strong interplay between a firm belief in ideals, a vocation for comparison, and the importance of the historical dimension. In the same way that Lelio Basso’s Marxism involved a critical approach and the attitude of a dissenter, in the Foundation’s history critical research and the rejection of all dogmatic conditioning have always been a constant. It has an agenda that feels the need to dig deep; it addresses major issues that mark the passage from one era to another; it endeavours to provide an interpretation of Italian affairs without the deformations of the contingent.

 

Since all this cannot be the aim of a single institution, the Foundation has for some time been working - and will continue to do so in the future – in close collaboration with other Italian and foreign cultural organizations.

A testimony to the work carried out by the Foundation is the many printed and digital documents it has published and the databases it has promoted.