The Portal was conceived and realised by the General Directorate for Archives, by the then Director General Luciano Scala, with the coordination of Patrizia Ferrara, at that time Head of Service III – Studies and Research, and was inaugurated on 17 December 2011.

The contents of the Portal were edited by the Editorial Board, consisting of: Roberta Corbellini, former director of the State Archives of Udine; Alessandra Corbo, Central Institute for Archives; Daniela Ferrari, former director of the State Archives of Mantua; Edoardo Garis of the State Archives of Turin; Franca Maestrini of the State Archives of Mantua; Ferdinando Salemme of the State Archives of Naples; Diana Toccafondi, former Archival Superintendent for Tuscany; and Mauro Tosti Croce, former director of Service III – Studies and Research.

The design of the web platform was carried out in cooperation with Gestione Archivi srl and Cineca.

Over the years, millions of images have flowed into the Portal, making it an indispensable resource for those wishing to undertake family history and biographical research.

In 2018 a graphic restyling of the website was carried out promoted by the Central Institute for Archives, then directed by Stefano Vitali, with the collaboration of Hyperborea for the development of the website.

With these interventions, the Portal has been enriched with new services, search aids and multimedia content.