FreakNet

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FreakNet is a Hacklab and hackerspace in Catania, active since 1995 and the first of its kind in Italy. It runs the Museum of Functioning Informatics (MusIF) in Palazzolo Acreide, where about 2,000 old computers are kept. These machines aren’t just on display—they can be repaired and used by visitors, and some are accessible online.

FreakNet offers free IT services, software, and training, and also hosts cultural and artistic events that aren’t strictly about technology.

History: FreakNet began in the era of BBS as an alternative, independent network similar to other early online communities. It worked with the anti-mafia magazine I Siciliani, using telematic tools to share services and publish a computer version of the magazine. In 1995, Gabriele Zaverio (also known as Asbesto Molesto) opened the group’s first physical space at the AURO Social Center in Catania.

Activities in those early years included basic IT courses for locals (including non-EU citizens), Unix accounts with email, and the distribution of anti-prohibitionist software. They collaborated with Libera on campaigns and events and organized exhibitions and information campaigns (for example, against the death penalty and in favor of free software). They also digitized and cataloged the AURO newspaper library and began digitizing important historical works about Southern Italy, such as rare Sicily volumes and other old regional texts. A 2000 campaign advocated for conscientious objection to using closed-source software in universities.

The group faced legal challenges and some acts of vandalism and intimidation, but it continued to grow. The Catania center later moved to the Arci headquarters, with branch offices in Palazzolo Acreide and Canterbury. Today FreakNet has more than 500 registered users from around the world.

One of its flagship projects is the MusIF, a collaboration with the free-software group Dyne (creators of dyne:bolic Linux) and the Poetry Hacklab in Palazzolo Acreide. The project aims to restore, document, and publicize historical machines, and to make the collection usable for visitors and online audiences. The MusIF holds around 2,000 machines, including models like the PDP-11, Data General Eclipse, IBM RS/6000, Honeywell DPS-6, and Apple I. Most of the collection is kept at the Poetry HackLab in Palazzolo Acreide, with some machines accessible online through links on the Poetry Lab’s site.