Case Study Italy
Andrea Fara (Italy, Università degli Studi “La Sapienza” di Roma) will carry out an investigation on production activities, pollution, and urban hygiene in the outskirts of Rome between the 14th and 16th centuries. The waste generated by production activities, rubbish and manure has always been considered something negative, a difficult subject to discuss, usually better not to talk about. Nevertheless, they are non-marginal testimony, undoubtedly important to better understand the economy and society today as in the past. From this point of view, the Middle Ages is commonly viewed negatively in the collective imagination in relation to the management and/or disposal of waste, because it is considered technologically and morally backward, characterised by usually limited and mediocre interventions, by regulations that are in any case insufficient, and – for this reason – it is judged “dirty”. In reality, the concepts of dirt and hygiene, the perception of decorum, are very subjective to the economy and society of reference, as are the solutions that can be proposed and implemented.
The Middle Ages were indeed no exception, as they perceived the problem and implemented strategies for waste disposal that varied geographically and chronologically, as well as socially. The case study will focus on the city of Rome between the 14th and 16th centuries, attempting an analysis of garbage, discarded objects, landfills, latrines and sewers to be considered as elements of a complex and interconnected economic system, also characterised by specific and articulated disposal strategies, evident in different types of sources, especially statutory and legislative ones. This highlights a set of non-trivial, increasingly coherent interventions that the local authorities – lay and ecclesiastical – put in place over time to respond to and manage a problem that was essential to the smooth running of the city; at the same time, many aspects of the daily life of the men and women of the Urbs can be highlighted.
An association between University of Cagliari UNICA, Comune di Villacidro and Fondazione Giuseppe Dessì (Italy) will focus on issues related to the local development of the inner areas of Sardinia, with a multidisciplinary approach, focusing on the Medio Campidano region and the municipality of Villacidro. The case study aims to develop a participatory research-action experience and establish a cross-disciplinary partnership between the academic sector, local authorities, associations, and communities. It supports, together with the municipal administration of Villacidro and the Giuseppe Dessì Foundation, a participatory process between the different actors of the territory with the aim of elaborating strategies for the promotion and valorisation of the significant historical, cultural and identity heritage, both material and immaterial, contributing to the strengthening of the sense of place and place attachment in order to counteract the phenomenon of abandonment and the consequent impoverishment of the landscape and territorial capital.
The ambition is to develop, together with the local communities, innovative strategic and planning scenarios for the rebalancing of territorial dynamics, on which to base a durable and self-sustainable development to counter the depopulation of territories and its physical, economic, and social manifestations.
In this context, the figure of Giuseppe Dessì, a famous writer and native of Villacidro, is central. Promoting the figure of Giuseppe Dessì can contribute to strengthening social cohesion and a sense of belonging, and to the recovery of the traditions and community values of Villacidro’s culture. The project extends to the conservation and rehabilitation of the landscape and of cultural and identity heritage through strategies to improve accessibility and fruition also in terms of tourism. More specifically, this case study proposes the definition and consolidation of a system of methods and tools that allow an active participation of the various stakeholders in the process of recovery and enhancement of the cultural and historical heritage, expression of a system of cultural values, both material and immaterial, to be safeguarded
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Notwithstanding its small size, Collelongo boasts a significant and multifaceted cultural heritage spanning almost three thousand years. On the one hand, the heritage begins with the archaeological remains of the pre-Roman civilization of the Marsi (which is the origin of the region’s denomination, “Marsica”), visible in the local museum and in an archaeological site just outside the village. The tradition culminates in the folk ritual of St. Anthony’s day (January 17), when the local families participate in cooking traditional foods for shared meals, as well as all-day ceremonies, parades, musical performances. In terms of immaterial culture and history, the heritage of Collelongo is related, on the one hand, to the memories of World War II, Nazi occupation, and Resistance, and on the other hand to emigration and immigration. Thanks to migrations, the apparently isolated village of Collelongo and its vicinity are part of a complex web of national and international connections. People migrated from the area to seek work in Rome; this migration has been partly documented, including some life stories and – most importantly – a musical heritage that is apparently forgotten locally but thrived for at least one generation in Rome. On the other hand, “collelonghesi” also migrated across the Atlantic to places like Buffalo in the United States and Toronto, Canada. These communities have not been studied or documented at all, although they retain close ties to the village. More recently, Collelongo has also been the site on a process of in-migration, especially of Moroccan farm hands working in the agricultural space of Marsica, and more recently of Afghanistan refugees. They brought with them a cultural heritage that is now a hidden part of the life of the village, resulting in a rethinking of the local identity, with both nativist and cosmopolitan responses from the local population. The focal point of the research will be the transformative nature of St. Anthony’s festival in the current socio-cultural setting, which mutated its religious significance towards a broader secular manifestation of local identity and pride.
Alessandro Portelli will coordinate the activity of Omerita Ranalli (Italy, Circolo Gianni Bosio), with the assistance of a second researcher and will investigate the interaction between immigrants and natives in Collelongo, a small community of about 1100 inhabitants in the mountains of Abruzzi (L’Aquila province).
