The Concrete Side of Italy
The big cities in Italy have their fair share of slum and monotonous housing estates as depressing examples of modern Italian architecture.
It’s funny how travel memories always seem pretty and bathed in a golden light. We take photos that look like postcards and come home with a clear impression of the attractions and beauty of a place. A year later all I remember is baroque gems in Sicily, the burgundy red houses of Bologna or the candy-coloured villages in Cinque Terre. As an antidote I try to take some unphotogenic photos showing a different kind of reality.
Monotonous housing and derelict schools
In Italy most town centres are so fabulous I want to immigrate immediately. I tend to forget that they are surrounded by a ring of concrete, where most Italian families actually live, crammed together in small, restricted spaces. Most state schools – especially in the south – are literally crumbling. And a lot of the public buildings from the Mussolini era appear intimidating.
As the photos below show, modern housing estates may compromise our aesthetic values, but they are more convenient than the picturesque old buildings. At least until they too start to decay. Besides it is my impression that Italians prefer the close quarters in a block of flats to independent housing. It makes them feel more secure. They even get buried in a high-rise.
People are still living in the old part of Taranto, even though many houses could use a renovation.
Even in the centre of towns – like here in Bolzano – you’ll find concrete houses of extraordinary monotony.
On the fringe on of the big cities, people live in concrete high-rises like quartiere Paolo VI in Taranto.
In Pordenone Piazzale XX Settembre forms a striking contrast to the old nearby streets with frescoed houses.
A boy plays football in a schoolyard somewhere in Puglia.
There is definitely a lot of “ugly” in Buenos Aires too. I take photos of it all :-)
Nice to know I’m not the only one :)
I think it’s important to show the ugly side of places since when everything looks postcard perfect, I’m disappointed when I actually do visit and see everything else that’s not shown on the postcard.
It’s true that there are many places that can disappoint you in each country. However, tourists should realize that there are no perfect countries or cities. For example, I know that many tourists from Ukraine are usually disappointed after visiting Paris as often tour agents embellish it.
Seems like pictures help to shape our expectations. Or lack of. I suppose Ukraine has got a lot of prettier sights than those normally shown in the media.
I don’t know… the old blocks are ugly, but there’s a certain charm in all their decrepitude.
I, too, take photos of it all. But since I”m not advanced photographer, I rarely post the “ugly” ones. They just don’t come off right!
Ciao Mette, You have captured it all. Wth my nostalgic streak I love looking at the decaying urban closeness that is the way of life for many modern day Italians. Oddly, the “new and modern” are somehow uglier to me. But then, I am not the one living in the decaying building. The Romans lived in their ultra-tight close quartered multi-storied wooden insulae, the forerunner of our modern day”apartment” buildings. Could it be that the desire for closeness is in the DNA of their modern day descendants?
I’m with you, Sophie!
I’m in on concrete sadness and romantic decay, and I like the DNA link to the Roman way of living. Interesting thought.
Yes, in most places one goes, it’s the same story, as it is here in Santiago. The modern encroaches on the still beautifully preserved traditional, and in between, there’s the decay…