(Finance) – The contrast between center and periphery is a complex issue, has always been approached in a logic of vertical dependence of one with respect to the other and hardly enjoys different interpretations, subordinating the culture of the suburbs of large cities to that which is indirectly reflected by the centre. Thinking about the city of Rome, for example, we talk about the eternal city, great works of art and the cradle of culture, but very often these definitions are applied exclusively to the center. If it is true that culture exists where there is exchange, dialogue and interconnection, however, we need to look more towards the peripheries. The demographic data tell us about a very high population density in these areas. In the neighborhood of Centocelle in Municipality V almost 17,000 inhabitants per square kilometer are recorded and similar data can be read regarding the main districts of Municipality with only the neighborhoods of Garbatella and Tor Marancio which together have 80,000 inhabitants. There are many social and above all economic studies that underline the importance of the suburbsAnd. According to one doctrine, it is precisely in their development that Italy’s decisive game in the world is played, a fundamental step in comparing it to the powers of the European Union, which continue to maintain a significant economic gap towards it.
By growth of the suburbs we do not mean, however, only the economic one. It is a complex mechanism that sees other spheres of social and cultural sciences as protagonists, in which art and its new developments, the protection of nature and landscape, but also music, entrepreneurship and everything that contributes are found. to building a healthy society. Perhaps what is needed is to rediscover the suburbs, to fall back in love with the landscapes, the art and the most hidden culture, different from that under the spotlight of the centre, but equally fascinating.
“Only by walking will we fall in love again”, in fact, it is the motto of the 2023 edition of the “Festival of Walks”, the first example of a successful attempt to valorise the territory in the context of the suburbs of Rome. Thanks to the promotion of the Public Domain project, the “Festival of Walks” – curated by Tiziano Panici and Giulia Anania – managed to bring to Municipality VIII, among San Paolo, Tor Marancio and Montagnola experiences of cultural valorisation through itinerant performative walks to tell the story of the city slow motion. The Public Domain approach is exactly what is needed to fall back in love with the suburbs, to stimulate culture from below, contributing significantly to bridging the presumed cultural gap and to the socio-economic awakening of many areas.
The neighborhoods crossed they are not the ones found in postcards of Rome at least until today. Tiziano Panici asked Giulia Anania to draw poetic postcards of San Paolo Veratti Tor Marancio and Montagnola neighborhoods that deserve to be celebrated, to invite the inhabitants to return to our places, because our trajectories are a monument to life. Anyone can take the sentimental postcards for free during the festival days; keep them or send them to say something nice to someone we care about or simply to invite them to walk with us. Because it is only by walking together that we will fall in love again. The Walking Festival is thus the public restitution of the Project which for the entire month of October involved the territory in the discovery, revaluation and redevelopment of Municipality VIII.
Speaking of valorization initiatives, a fundamental contribution to the cultural development of the suburbs of Rome is provided by the creative project “La Città Ideale” under the direction of Fabio Morgan, who from season to season carries out social and artistic activities in the neighborhoods of Torpignattara, Quarticciolo and One hundred cells, in a horizontal process of transformation of urban areas into cultural areas where shared art experiences, intergenerational meetings and continuous exchange find space. In the autumn season of this year, for example, “La Citta Ideale” implemented the “Ideal Wall” initiative on October 21st, a shared public work of art by Kontra Moenia which makes use of the artificial intelligence to generate posters for display starting from what has been freely drawn.
A another example of valorisation of the territory of the suburbs of Rome comes from the initiative of “Le Città Possibili”, a multidisciplinary festival that turns its gaze to the X Municipality, touching the areas of Ostia, Acilia and Tarragon. In 2023 it returned with its second edition, carrying forward the concept of “artistic invasions” in an attempt to raise awareness in the suburbs of Rome on various themes, from feminism to eco-sustainability, starting from art.
There this edition’s mission, in fact, is not resolved in artistic representation alone, but seeks a deeper investigation that starts from art to discuss socio-cultural themes of great importance. A concrete example of this is the triple all-female event dedicated to literature at the Sandro Onofri Library in Acilia on 20 November (“Brutta” by Giulia Blasi, “To each her own” by Chiara Becchimanzi and “Extra Bold – an inclusive anti-racist feminist guide non-binary for graphic designers” edited by a collective of international authors) but also the production of 10 social clips which in the month of November will tell the story of the other Ostia, not the criminal, degraded one, with socio-cultural difficulties, but also the places of excellence, the history and cultural ferment of the place. Digital art and social media will therefore be at the service of history and culture with “Viecce!”, an audiovisual journey aimed at investigating the theme of culture and inequality, proposed for Città Possibili in the Foyer Teatro of the Lido.
These are some of the virtuous examples that aim to overturn the vertical relationship existing between the center and the outskirts of Rome, pioneers of a cultural revolution that increasingly looks to the diffusion of art, music, theater and of all cultural instances in a horizontal logic, in the name of involvement and sharing.