Work

Public space at stake: competing forms of territorialisation and the construction of a democratic public space in the first years of the Italian Republic

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The end of the civil war, the fall of the Italian Social Republic, the allied occupation and the gradual transition to the new Italian Republic not only set Italy on the path to democracy, but also gradually gave Italians access to a new public space. This article proposes to revisit the classic question of the legacy of Fascism by looking at the question of space and the difficult construction of a genuine democratic space. During the ventennio , opponents were largely denied access to common spaces, both symbolically and physically. The article raises the question of violence and the exclusive appropriation of space, showing that the representations and practices inherited from Fascism did not disappear overnight. But these practices of space were not always violent: by looking at aspects that are often neglected (graffiti, manifestos, noises and singing), the aim is to show that the transition took time and was sometimes complicated, despite the political leaders of the Italian Republic claiming to have opened up a completely new era.

Source: Modern Italy

DOI: 10.1017/mit.2024.54

Author: Virgile Cirefice

Institutions: Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires en Histoire, Histoire de l'Art et Musicologie, Université de Limoges

Language: English

Topic: Italian Fascism and Post-war Society

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450