The Italian Streets That Don’t Exist on Any Map
June 3, 2023 12:27 PM   Subscribe

 
I was expecting some kind of Pynchonesque series of unnoticed alleyways and such, but the actual tale is more mundane and more humane in some ways. Also unwieldy and awkward, but it's a system that should be noted. Thanks for posting!
posted by hippybear at 1:29 PM on June 3, 2023 [2 favorites]


Among Avvocato di Strada’s ongoing battles with town halls is over how the streets are named. In some cities, like Bologna and Rome, the street is named in homage to a homeless person. Rome’s via fittizia is named after Modesta Valenti, a homeless woman who died in the city’s main train station on January 31, 1983, after emergency services repeatedly refused to help her. Other fake streets have bland, administrative names, like Via del Comune (“Commune Street”) or Via dell’Anagrafe (“Register Street”), but some are flagrant in advertising their purpose. “Some are called things like ‘Solidarity Street,’ ‘Charity Street,’ or, even worse, ‘Without A Fixed Address Street.’ It’s discriminatory, because it stops a homeless person from forgetting their state of poverty, and a person who reads that on their identity card will already be prejudiced against them,” says Sibillano.
It's fascinating that some people, when put in charge of a tool to make life better for the least privileged in society, decide to use it to fuck people over, while others will seek to use the same tool to bring dignity to every human life. What a weird species we are.
posted by Kattullus at 2:09 PM on June 3, 2023 [7 favorites]


This is somehow the most Italian way to solve this problem possible.
posted by feckless at 5:42 PM on June 3, 2023 [3 favorites]


Yea, I was comparing it to the Webb’s description of the English Poor Law and this is more charming (seems less comprehensive though).
posted by clew at 9:44 PM on June 3, 2023


There are other Italian instances of coordinated shadow systems that tap the trappings of state officialdom to guarantee minimum living conditions for all humans in a given place, organised by various entities, be they women’s shelters or faith communities. You almost feel it’s risky to name them, for fear they’ll be targeted for administrative trickery to shut them back down. It’s sad but not unexpected to have to look to the edges of society for the invention of humane solutions, especially under inhumane rule.
posted by progosk at 12:51 AM on June 4, 2023 [6 favorites]


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