“You Can Live With Roman Character in Pigneto”
A Qualitative Analysis of Authenticity in the Gentrifying Space
Master's Thesis
MSc Sociology – Urban Sociology
Lou Therese Elisabeth Brandner
10009787 ltebrandner@gmail.com
Thesis supervisor: Dr. Olga Sezneva
Second reader: Dr. Linda van de Kamp
07/07/2016
Word count: 24.791Abstract
This thesis explores notions of urban authenticity, atmosphere and cultural capital in connection to the Roman neighbourhood Pigneto. Pigneto emerged in the late 19th century as an informal and peripheral borgata. After World War II, it was utilised as a film scenery for neorealist cinema depicting the poor living conditions of subproletarian Romans. It kept its marginalised status until the millennium change, but has since then transformed into a popular neighbourhood with a vibrant nightlife and cultural scene. I argue that its history of a marginalised, peripheral area with a matching rustic aesthetic as well as cinematographic representations have resulted in it being perceived as an authentic place to live in, which increased its desirability.
Sharon Zukin's concept of urban authenticity as a gentrification facilitator, embedded in notions of cultural capital and the distinction of taste by Pierre Bourdieu, is the main theoretical frame, extended by Japonica Brown-Saracino social preservationism hypothesis. The study has a qualitative, mixed-method approach. A short media analysis, in-depth interviews, walk-alongs and a short survey were conducted. The collected fieldwork data were analysed with Grounded Theory methodology. The objective was to examine if Pigneto is gentrifying, if and how old and new Pigneto residents and frequenters perceive the neighbourhood as authentic and how they assess its transformation and their role in it. Filmed interviews, walk-alongs and observations were also turned into a short film, illustrating the findings.
The result of the thesis is that many of Pigneto's appealing elements fall into the category of Zukin's urban authenticity, such as a perceived traditionality and originality, combined with alternative consumption opportunities. However, it also adds the dimension of a rural authenticity with low-rise architecture, a folkloric atmosphere and family-like community. This notion seems to substitute parts of the urban authenticity present in post-industrial cities such as New York; this might be due to the fact that Rome stayed industrially underdeveloped. Additionally, the contrasts between urban and rural characteristics result in a fascinating aesthetic for new residents. These new residents tend to be young, highly educated and employed in creative industries. While some of them see themselves as a positive force towards a better future of Pigneto, others are acting more as social preservationists and are aware of gentrification and its potentially negative consequences. The preferences of new populations in Pigneto have evidently already led to an extensive economic change, displacing old businesses. Old residents lament this development and often feel defenceless against it; they perceive that their neighbourhood has been losing its village-like community and transformed into a chaotic, dangerous nightlife area. Lastly, the most central and popular part of Pigneto, its pedestrian zone, seems to be in the process of losing its authentic characteristics, resulting in some new residents and frequenters avoiding it.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Theoretical Framework
2.1 Literature Overview 2.2 The Case of Pigneto
3 3 6
3. Methodology
3.1 Empirical Data Collection 3.1.1 Interviews 3.1.2 Walk-Alongs 3.1.3 Short Survey 3.2 Empirical Data Analysis 3.3 Media Analysis 3.4 Short Film 8 8 8 9 10 11 12 12 4. Pigneto
4.1 Historical and Cultural Background 4.2 Recent Development
4.3 Media Attention and Tourism
13 13 18 21 5. Empirical Results 5.1 Registers of Evaluation 5.1.1 New Residents 5.1.1.1 Originality 5.1.1.2 Young Lifestyle 5.1.1.3 Problems 5.1.2 Old Residents 5.1.2.1 Change 5.1.2.2 Originality 5.2 Socio-demographic Factors 24 24 25 26 31 36 37 38 43 44 6. Discussion 47 7. Limitations 50 8. Conclusion 52 Bibliography Appendix 54 iv
1. Introduction
Unlike the centre or some uptown neighbourhoods, here you can live the real spirit of
Romans, a vintage lifestyle and architecture. The real essence of people and their lives.
1 This is the answer a young, fashionable man gave when asked about his impression of Pigneto, a former peripheral area in south-eastern Rome. On a warm spring evening, he and his equally stylish female companion were having a drink on a recently installed bench in Pigneto's pedestrian zone, surrounded by countless crowded bars and restaurants. Shortly after, the young woman said worryingly: I think Pigneto is losing its atmosphere now.I visited Pigneto for the first time in summer 2015, when an Italian friend decided that I had see Rome's coolest neighbourhood. As a tourist, I had until then only frequented the city's main attractions within the Aurelian walls. We left these ancient boundaries through the Porta Maggiore gate and walked down the main road Via Prenestina, passing a chaotic intersection of train tracks from the nearby Termini station and the massive city highway bridges. But as soon as we entered Pigneto's
isola pedonale, the pedestrian zone, this world of traffic and concrete was behind us. At first glance, its
architecture gave it the look of a residential area, but it was far from one: Framed by the small, often graffiti-covered one- to three-story buildings of Via del Pigneto, a young crowd was spending their evening in numerous little venues. Men with well-groomed beards were waiting in front of an artisanal burger joint, tattooed women in fashionable outfits were enjoying cocktails at a feminist library, craft beer bars with selected vintage interior could be seen next to simple, rustic restaurants. Establishments often carried names such as Da Vero al Pigneto ('Truly at Pigneto'), Primo al Pigneto ('First at Pigneto') or simply Trattoria Pigneto, apparently taking pride in the location and advertising with it. Within this nightlife atmosphere, some older people were slowly walking their dogs down the street, stopping at its spare trees and green areas. It seemed that not many tourists had found their way there – very few people besides me and my friend were conversing in English – and this was not surprising, considering how hard it was to reach via public transport. This place seemed to me detached from the Rome I had seen before. With its simple, low-rise buildings it rather resembled a small town than Rome's historical centre with churches, fountains and ancient landmarks or the high-rise condominiums of its immediate surroundings. At the same time, many of the local businesses reminded me of places like Berlin's Kreuzberg or Amsterdam's De Pijp with hip cocktail bars and organic restaurants. I kept on wondering why such an economic landscape had developed in this isolated, little neighbourhood and how it had become a hotspot for the stylish audience we could observe there.
In a case study about Pigneto, the Italian researcher Sandra Annunziata describes it as a trendy, vibrant and fashionable place for nightlife with an influx of young and intellectual workers as residents (Annunziata 2010: 26). While during the 20th century the conservation of Rome's city centre led to an increasing focus on tourism and the displacement of residents, Pigneto as an originally informal, peripheral neighbourhood was considered an urban village where real Romans live. This inspired neorealist filmmakers to choose it as a scenario, which then again reinforced its image as a diverse, open, alternative area. According to Annunziata, Pigneto is a desirable neighbourhood because of its physical features, socio-cultural imageries and ethnic diversity (ibid.: 28).
I was intrigued by this contrasting notion of an urban village that at the same time is considered alternative and diverse. The new, young and intellectual population suggests that Pigneto is a gentrifying area; the argument that it is considered a place where real Romans live implies that it might be seen as an authentic neighbourhood, possibly reinforced by neorealist film imageries and narratives. I decided to lay the focus of my Master's thesis on Pigneto, exploring the perceptions of residents to find out why they live there and if notions of an authentic atmosphere were a part of its appeal. This results in the main research question: What makes Pigneto authentic in the eyes of its residents and how does this authenticity impact its desirability?
In the next chapter, I will give an overview of relevant literature regarding gentrification, commodification and urban authenticity before I frame the case of Pigneto and introduce potential sub-questions. Afterwards, the methodological approach on data collection and analysis will be explained. In the subsequent chapter, the history of Pigneto as well as its recent transformation including attention by media and tourism are explored. Against this background, I will present the empirical results of the fieldwork based on exemplary interview and short survey quotes. After discussing the findings and limitations of the study, it is completed with a short conclusion.
2. Theoretical Background
This study will explore cultural factors of gentrification that could broadly be called atmosphere with a focus on authenticity: How does the atmosphere of Pigneto contribute to its attractiveness for gentrifiers? I argue that a perceived authenticity plays an important role in motivating people to move to the neighbourhood.
There are parts of cities that are commonly perceived as more authentic than others. This becomes for instance notable when locals recommend visitors certain neighbourhoods for a real experience, often far off the main tourist attractions. I want to explore the notion of authenticity as a potential register of evaluation and appreciation in connection to the gentrifying neighbourhood of Pigneto. In gentrification research, it has been argued that authenticity as a perceived quality is what makes given spaces desirable for young people, students and artists; as soon as they start to frequent and settle down in authentic, often poorer neighbourhoods, their preferences and patterns of consumption can change the area's economic landscape in the sense of a gentrification process. In this chapter, I want to introduce relevant academic concepts and explain in what way I will use them to examine Pigneto's perceived atmosphere and potential authenticity.
2.1 Literature Overview
As a pioneer of urban planning, Jane Jacobs criticised top-down urban renewal laws and proposed that cities needed diversity, a mixture of commercial choices and cultural interest to sustain their own civilization (Jacobs 1961: 144). Buildings that vary in age and condition, including a good proportion of old ones are necessary for accommodating low-profile businesses such as bars, foreign restaurants and pawn shops (ibid.: 187f). Only three years later, it is Ruth Glass who coins the term gentrification. It references the rural English 'gentry' of the 18th and 19th century, which was below the aristocratic class and above peasants and farmers. In Glass' view, a new 'urban gentry' was taking over the inner city:
One by one, many of the working class quarters of London have been invaded by the middle classes – upper and lower. Shabby, modest mews and cottages [...] have been taken over, when their leases have expired, and have become elegant, expensive residences. […] The current social status and value of such dwellings are frequently in inverse relation to their size, and in any case enormously inflated by comparison with previous levels in their neighbourhoods. Once this process of 'gentrification' starts in a district it goes on rapidly until all or most of the original working class occupiers are displaced and the whole social character of the district is changed (Glass 1964: vxiii).
Jacobs did not foresee all the mechanisms of gentrification; displacement of underprivileged residents does not only occur through state-led renewal measures, but also through an 'invasion' of wealthier populations. As Glass observed, this development can raise prices and change the social character of neighbourhoods.
Since the term emerged, the reasons why gentrification processes are occurring have been extensively studied. Most approaches can be attributed to a production-based or a consumption-based argument. Production-based explanations claim that public and private institutional agents create gentrifiable spaces by unevenly investing capital in certain land uses (for example Smith's 1979 rent-gap thesis; Clark 1987; Engels 1994; Hammel 1999). However, this study will follow the consumption-based explanation, which focuses on the consumption preferences of potential gentrifiers. The approach is not detached from an economic background; it argues that the transition of cities from industrial to post-industrial and from manufacturing to service-based industries led to urban living increasingly being dominated by white collar professionals instead of a blue collar working class (Ley 1986; Butler 1997; Hamnett 2003). For instance, Hamnett (2003) claims that this shift increases the demand for middle-class housing, but also changes the cultural orientation and preferences of city dwellers. David Ley (1986) as well came to the conclusion that economic conditions alone are not sufficient in explaining gentrification: Urban amenities in the form of character districts with distinctive architecture, leisure opportunities as well as social and cultural diversity offer a contrast to the perceived 'inauthentic' homogeneity of suburbs.
Sharon Zukin is one of the most influential advocates of a consumption-based gentrification explanation. In 1987, she calls gentrification a multidimensional cultural practice, analysing how culture and capital are intertwined in the gentrifying space. She claims that the cultural markets that gentrifiers seek and produce validate and valorise business investment in cities. Consequently, cities with high rates of artists in the labour force also have high rates of downtown gentrification (Zukin 1987: 143). This is in line with Pierre Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital: Artists typically do not have high economic capital, but they posses the highest cultural capital of all social groups (Bourdieu 1984: 39). They produce goods of high cultural value that can be the source of the changing of tastes and are typically consumed by an economically wealthier bourgeois class, which wants to distinct itself from the working class also aesthetically (ibid.: 230). Taste is therefore the result of purposeful cultural consumption and creates distinctions between different classes and class fractions (ibid.: 6). Gentrification can constitute a field in the Bourdieusian sense, a terrain where cultural and economic capital reproduce each other (Ley 2003: 2532). Artists are associated with an avantgarde urban lifestyle in poor neighbourhoods that makes a cultural virtue of economic necessity (ibid: 2534). Following the logic of artistic producers determining taste, urban places that are popular among artists often also become attractive to wealthier groups (ibid.: 2535).
The assumption that an influx of creative capital can raise the value of cities has also found its way into urban policy. David Harvey argues that in late capitalism city governance transformed from managerialism to a competitive entrepreneurialism. This means that cities have become more keen on generating capital through economic development instead of focusing on projects for the improvement of local working and living conditions (Harvey 1989: 8). In 2002, Richard Florida establishes a new
creative policy paradigm by claiming that the key to the economic growth of cities is prioritising the preferences of members of the creative class (Peck 2012: 463). This new class includes not only writers, artists or designers, but also engineers, scientists and university professors; people who are paid to use their minds (Florida 2012: 8f). Florida thus makes no difference between groups with high cultural and high economic capital. The concept of the creative class is too broad and undefined to be treated as a meaningful sociological term, but it has had high influence as a policy tool. It thus matters when analysing the current relationship between culture and consumption in the gentrifying space.
In Consuming Authenticity (2008) and Naked City (2010), Sharon Zukin further refines the approach that gentrification is accelerated by the commodification of the perceived authenticity of space. In urban areas, characteristics of working-class downtown living such as small businesses, ethnic diversity and a gritty look with deteriorating facades and street art are what the new 'gentry' wants instead of the sterility and boredom of the suburbs:
Artists, and those privileged among us who share an aesthetic view of urban detritus, conceive of space in different terms: Is it interesting? Is it gritty? Is it real? (Zukin 2008: 728)
Restored or modern spaces are rejected as sanitised and artificial while older, poorer areas are considered authentic, which in Bourdieu's sense can be interpreted as the aestheticisation of the common: It is considered a sign of sophistication to recognise the aesthetic value of an object, even more so if one is able to find a 'pure' aesthetic in an ordinary, common or everyday object (Bourdieu 1984: 40). According to Zukin, there are two ways authenticity is – often simultaneously – defined that contradict each other. On one hand, it stands for something primal, true to a traditional vision, on the other hand for something new, unique and creative (Zukin 2010: xii). Since there is no clear definition of authenticity in an urban context, it can be claimed by adopting certain superficial features as a mix of several cultural references that combine traditional with innovative elements (ibid.: 3). For example, instead of mass market goods, gentrifiers also desire alternative products like organic and gourmet foods from farmers' markets (Zukin 2008: 725). Another dimension of authenticity is 'cool' cultural consumption in connection with for example alternative art and music shows or underground parties, a down and dirty hipster culture (Zukin 2010: 37). It is thus also the consumption patterns of gentrifiers that accelerate gentrification processes. Authenticity in its various forms has turned into a tool of control that impacts the look and use of gentrifying space: New residents of old neighbourhoods are consuming an idea of authenticity (ibid.: 728). This leads to an increased emergence of establishments that cater to these preferences such as small boutiques, art galleries, gourmet stores, organic restaurants or coffee shops. Businesses that are adjusted to the needs of the old working-class population often do not match the consumption patterns of the new residents and therefore lose their clientele when old residents are displaced. For example, wealthier residents do not need laundromats, since they will buy their own washers and dryers (Zukin 2010: 7). The commodification of culture and consumption of authenticity thus ultimately leads to gentrification processes and the disappearance of
authentic elements. Following a policy approach that focuses on the needs of a wealthier creative class in the sense of Florida might thus accelerate and intensify gentrification.
It is important to note that Zukin emphasises that it is not the presence of new residents, artists and 'hipsters', but their taste for authenticity in the form of businesses and aesthetics that sets the process of displacement in motion (ibid.: 734). Japonica Brown-Saracino extends Zukin's argument by claiming that there is an important difference between gentrifiers and social preservationists. While they involve similar – highly educated and residentially mobile – populations, they are very distinct in their ideologies: Gentrifiers are mainly interested in preserving the aesthetic authenticity of a place, while for example wanting to reduce crime and increasing social control. Preservationists, on the other hand, know the language of gentrification and perceive that they and other new residents are posing a danger to the authentic community, which they are not a part of (ibid.: 265). It is not enough for them to consume the diversity of a place symbolically; they resent restructuring measures that could displace old-timers. For preservationists, the presence of old-timer communities is thus the most important factor of authenticity. In contrast to Zukin, Brown-Saracino therefore acknowledges that not all gentrifiers are blind to their potential impact on neighbourhoods, but possess awareness.
Finally, Lees, Slater and Wyly argue that gentrification is not only a phenomenon of inner cities, but can also occur in rural areas (Lees et al. 2008: 129). Since rural gentrification proceeds similarly to urban gentrification, namely by restructuring, raising prices and changing the social identity of neighbourhoods, they should be considered close relatives instead of opposites (ibid.: 138). We thus arrive at a broader definition of gentrification that does not solely focus on downtown areas. The term rural gentrification is of importance for this thesis: Even though Pigneto is an urban neighbourhood, it represents some 'rural' attributes to residents due to its history and appearance, which will be discussed in the history and results chapters. It is not necessarily only the urbanity of a space that attracts gentrifiers; sometimes, they are trying to escape big, hectic cities and instead live in a more quiet place that has its own rural authenticity (ibid.: 137). This authenticity is, just like urban authenticity, distinct from the 'sterile' environment of the suburbs, even though potentially in different ways. Rural gentrification can be seen in the context of a rural-urban-continuum that merges the borders and distinction between 'the rural' and 'the urban'. It is then also applicable to neighbourhoods like Pigneto, which are by definition urban, but perceived as partly rural.
2.2 The Case of Pigneto
As a former marginalised, lower-class neighbourhood that has become popular among a young, artistic audience within the last years, Pigneto can be a suitable site for conducting sociological research regarding authenticity in the gentrifying urban space. Sharon Zukin's urban authenticity will thus be a relevant concept for this study. Bourdieu's conceptualizations give Zukin's approach a theoretical background of how cultural capital facilitates an inflow of economic capital. It is important to estimate
if interviewed respondents can be seen as artistic producers and therefore carriers of cultural capital. Florida's notion of the creative class can here also serve as a label for residents whose consumption preferences are potentially accelerating gentrification.
A lot of the research in this field focuses on North America and cities that were highly industrialised; Pigneto's history, as will be discussed in chapter 5, has some distinct particularities, which will make it interesting to explore if the notion of authenticity is applicable to it or if there are other factors that make it attractive. For example, Pigneto's representation in neorealist cinema could have added another cultural dimension to its appeal; it should be examined if it is also in line with an authentic perception or if it is a separate factor. If Pigneto is perceived as authentic, it is then also of importance to examine in what ways this is the case. Keeping in mind the description of Pigneto as an urban village, it is possible that it is not exactly an urban authenticity that makes it attractive; people could also settle down there because of a quaint, country-like, rural atmosphere.
Japonica Brown-Saracino's distinction between gentrifiers and social preservationists adds the question of the roles that different residents play: Are assumed gentrifiers aware of their impact and the gentrification process in general? Are they critical of the transformation or do they support it? How do old residents perceive the changes? Are they indifferent, supportive, resisting or defeated? Furthermore, it will be interesting to explore if Bourdieu's thoughts on the distinction of taste through the aesthetic of the common are applicable to a place like Pigneto; how do different residents evaluate the neighbourhood's aesthetic? Do they perceive it as beautiful and if yes, why?
Thus, to this study's main objective of exploring what makes Pigneto authentic and if this authenticity impacts its desirability, there are several sub-questions. It is questionable if 1) the beauty of the common is part of Pigneto's appeal, 1) urban authenticity is sufficient in explaining its attractiveness, 2) how local particularities such as Pigneto's history as well as its depiction in neorealist film impact how it is perceived and 3) how old and new residents perceive the gentrification process and their role in it.
3. Methodology
As an ethnographic case study, this project has a phenomenological, qualitative focus, exploring individual experiences and perceptions of locals. For this purpose, a mixed-method approach of qualitative interviews combined with the walk-along technique, elements of visual ethnography and a short survey was pursued. The following sections will explain how data were collected and analysed. 3.1 Empirical Data Collection
The data collection aimed at obtaining an in-depth picture of Pigneto and its residents. For having access and getting to know and explore the neighbourhood properly, I moved to an apartment in Via di Acqua Bullicante on the eastern edge of Pigneto for two months. This allowed me to experience and adjust to Pigneto's local characteristics such as its population, its economy or infrastructure similarly to a resident and made it possible to enrich the collected data with my own observations. Additionally, observing inhabitants beforehand facilitated an informed choice of interview respondents. This was important to estimate the 'typical' Pigneto population and then make a heterogeneous selection of interviewees to give the results the necessary range in the sense of theoretical sampling (Corbin et al.: 1990: 9). The respondents were organised into two categories: old and new residents. The age of the person was not relevant for this distinction; rather, it was the time span for which they have lived in Pigneto. Since the earliest signs of a beginning gentrification process are traceable to the late 1990s2, people who moved to Pigneto roughly around the millennium change or later were considered new residents. People who are for example still under thirty, but spent their childhood in Pigneto, were considered old residents. In some cases – one case within the in-depth interviews and several within the short survey – the respondents did not live nor work in Pigneto, but were regular visitors. For these cases, the same categorization depended on when they started frequenting the area regularly. The following sections will further explain how data were collected.
3.1.1 Interviews
As a suitable method for a qualitative research, focusing on individual narratives, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted for the data collection. Seven in-depth interviews were conducted with overall nine participants. Six of these respondents were new residents and three of them old residents. The objective of qualitative interviewing is to develop an analysis based on the information supplied by participants (Creswell 2009: 184). Interview sites should be purposefully selected in accord with the investigated phenomenon (ibid: 178). Naturally, possible respondents were approached in Pigneto; while doing so, the whole neighbourhood was taken into account. For example,
the bars of the popular pedestrian zone were chosen to look for younger respondents, while older residents were approached in front of a local supermarket in a more residential area. When someone agreed to be interviewed, I asked them to choose a location that they consider typical for Pigneto to meet me, which served as a conversation starter and helped to make the interview more illustrative.
The questions of the protocol3 were mostly open, leaving the respondents as much room for own thought as possible. The listed questions are not to be seen as a strict guideline, but as a flexible reminder of the most important topics. While talking to the respondents, it was individually adjusted to the conversation. The main aim was to let the locals explain how they experience Pigneto and its recent development to examine their view on a potential gentrification process and how they perceive the authenticity of Pigneto. As examples for reference points of transformation, for example the new metro stop in the neighbourhood or Pigneto's cinematographic history were used.
The interviews were led in English, Italian or German. For the Italian interviews, a native speaker fluent in English functioned as an interpreter. In total, seven in-depth interviews between 45 to 70 minutes were conducted. They were recorded on audiotape and transcribed afterwards4. The two interviews with older residents – a 60 year old toy store owner and a 75 year old pensioner – led completely in Italian were not entirely transcribed, but only the relevant sections were extracted and translated. The reason for this is that these respondents often digressed from the topic in their narratives. Still, the selected parts of their responses supplied enough relevant information and perceptions.
3.1.2 Walk-Alongs
I joined four new and two old residents of the in-depth respondents on a walk-along through Pigneto to receive more illustrative descriptions of Pigneto's perceived atmosphere, aesthetic and population. Walk-alongs, which are part of the go-along method, mean that researcher accompanies their informant on a walk in their 'natural' outings, observing and asking questions. They are suitable to explore subjects' stream of experiences and practices as they move through […] their physical and social environment (Kusenbach 2003: 463). It requires fieldworkers to take a more active stance towards capturing respondents' actions and interpretations in situ (ibid.). This approach can be particularly illuminating in a study about respondents' experiences and perceptions, since the surroundings they describe can be filmed simultaneously, providing detailed visual data. Joining the subjects on a walk can also de-emphasise the researcher's perceptual presuppositions and biases, because the information focuses on how the respondents shape and filter their own perception in a concrete situation (ibid.: 469).
3 see appendix x. 4 see appendix ix.
The walk-alongs were conducted with two of the old and three of the new residents. They lasted between 30 and 90 minutes and covered between 500 metres and 4.5 kilometres. Often, they included breaks, for example for a coffee. The premise was that I join the informants on a walk they would normally take in their everyday lives, so they could show me 'their' Pigneto. It was therefore the informants' decision what to show me specifically and what to lay emphasis on; like this, they could bring me to places they consider typical or that they especially (dis)like, tell me what they associate with the 'authentic' Pigneto and how they perceive its atmosphere and look. In addition to the interviews, the walk-alongs generated valuable data, because real-life situations can trigger perceptions and interpretations that for example would not come up in an interview situation in the respondents' homes. The conversations during the walk-alongs were partly recorded, partly written down in field notes. Interesting places were filmed to gather visual data for the short film that was made for illustrating the results of this research. The different routes were recorded with mapping software to demonstrate covered areas. Things the respondents specifically mentioned or emphasised are highlighted in the resulting maps.5
3.1.3 Short Survey
Since the sample of nine respondents in seven interviews for the in-depth data collection is very small, additional short interviews with 30 people on the streets of Pigneto were conducted. This ensured that the discovered narratives and patterns were not coincidental or deviant views, but actually common perceptions within the neighbourhood's population. The short questionnaire was therefore not intended to make this qualitative study representative, but to increase its credibility of illuminating relevant phenomena. For these short interviews, random people were approached throughout the streets of Pigneto to different times of the day. 14 informants were categorised as old and 16 as new. The survey was focused on the questions 1) How would you describe Pigneto? 2) Is Pigneto changing in your view and if yes, in what ways? 3) What do you know about the cinematographic history of Pigneto? The short interviews were thus more structured than the in-depth ones, but were as well adapted to the course of the conversation; while some were in the end as brief as two minutes, others were up to 15 minutes long. The aim of the short survey was to assess if its data will be congruent with answers given in the longer interviews. The last question was necessary because during the in-depth interviews, while new residents brought Pigneto's neorealism history up themselves, old residents did not. I thus wanted to examine if old respondents are generally less informed about this part of Pigneto's history or if they just do not find it worth mentioning on their own. The responses were led in Italian and/or English, recorded on audiotape and afterwards transcribed in note form.6
5 see fig. 14 to 18.
3.2 Empirical Data Analysis
The collected in-depth data were analysed through Grounded Theory methodology. Grounded Theory is helpful to compare data from different sources by turning the raw material into codes, making the results interpretable and potentially reproducible. It shows underlying patterns and demonstrates similarities and differences in narratives. For this study, it helped to demonstrate relevant registers of evaluation in the respondents' statements. As a method to build empirically based, interpretative theories, Grounded Theory allows an open, flexible analysis, interrelated to the collection of data (Corbin et al. 1990: 5f). Concepts are discovered and expanded during the data collection; thus, hypotheses are not fixed from the start but can be modified, revised or discarded completely (ibid.: 13). In a project that focuses on individual perceptions, this can be an important point, since it is vital to give the respondents room for their own experiences without being too limited on a-priori set assumptions. The analysed material should be as heterogeneous as possible to give the results the necessary range. For this reason, people of different estimated age groups and social backgrounds were approached. Since the socio-demographic background of respondents is also relevant for a study that explores the perceptions of potential gentrifiers, who are typically higher educated and wealthier than the original, often working-class population, differences that were found between the background of new and old residents will as well be analysed in chapter 5.3.
Through the first open coding stage of Grounded Theory, codes are conceptualised by finding keywords within the interviews (Strauss 1991: 57). The terms are summarised to preliminary categories. During the next step, axial coding, the categories are enhanced to a higher level of abstraction, which gives them the necessary density (Muckel 2007: 345). In the last step, selective coding, a core category is identified, which determines the central phenomenon of the analysis (Corbin et al. 1990: 14). A conceptually sound theory should have emerged, which explains as many aspects of the examined phenomenon as possible.
The qualitative data analysis software MAXQDA was used for material from the interviews and walk-alongs. MAXQDA helps to evaluate and interpret qualitative data systematically. It allows the researcher to code text fragments and to organise them in different categories and subcategories in order to find patterns and connections within single interviews or sets of interviews (Creswell 2009: 188). For this project, two interview sets – one for old residents, one for new residents – were coded separately and then compared to illustrate differences; the videos that were filmed during the walk-alongs were used as auxiliary material (Konecki 2011: 137), which illustrated social or spatial narratives. Including the videos into the coding was for example useful to compare what visual aspects of the neighbourhood the respondents found typical or (un-)appealing.
The data from the survey were only added after the MAXQDA analysis to increase the material's credibility. While they enriched the explored phenomena with certain new dimensions, they also
confirmed its fundamental assumptions. Thus, it can be assumed that the sample of the in-depth interviews and walk-alongs was still heterogeneous enough to result in a conceptually sound theory. 3.3 Media Analysis
In chapter 4.3, a short online media analysis was conducted to estimate Italian and international media attention towards Pigneto within the last years. For this purpose, the Google tool Trends was utilised: Depending on how often a term is searched within Google services, Google Trends calculates a search volume index, determining the term's popularity over time. To compare the search volume index for Pigneto, it was compared to Trastevere, a popular tourist and nightlife destination in central Rome, and Torpignattara, a neighbourhood bordering Pigneto that has not undergone significant gentrification yet. Since Google Trends only measures how often terms have been searched, it cannot determine if the news coverage about Pigneto has actually been increasing over time. However, it can still deliver a strong implication of a rising awareness and interest. The search volume for the general Google web search was calculated as well to demonstrate changes in interest.
Lastly, a web search for news and blog articles about Pigneto was conducted. 30 Italian and 15 international articles were analysed to get an idea of their main topics.7 This was important to estimate how Pigneto is depicted by national and international media.
3.4 Short Film
As mentioned before, respondents and surroundings were filmed during parts of the data collection. Based on the filmed material, a short film8 was made in order to illustrate the results of the study more vividly. The focus of the film lies on the different aspects of urban space that the informants describe, including its atmosphere and clientele. The film is supposed to accompany this written thesis and to show the neighbourhood of Pigneto similarly to how its residents perceive it, especially demonstrating differences between the narratives of old and new members of the population. In addition to material filmed during interviews and walk-alongs, some scenes were filmed in hindsight on the basis of places the respondents described. It was tried to stay as close to the respondents' descriptions as possible to create a close representation of their perceptions. Also, neorealist film scenes were used to show parts of Pigneto's historical and cinematographic background.
7 Chapter 4.3 presents a selection of these media.
4. Pigneto
Before demonstrating the results of the study, it is important to give it a historical context. The neighbourhood of Pigneto is located south-east of Rome's historical centre. Between the railway tracks of Termini station and the two main roads Via Casilina and Via Prenestina, it occupies a triangular area of approximately 200 hectares and is part of the larger neighbourhood Prenestino-Labicano9. Pigneto has only developed in the late 19th century, but in its short existence it has been affected by numerous phenomena that are part of larger processes in pre- and postwar Italy and Europe. Today, Pigneto is a vibrant nightlife area full of bars, cafés and restaurants, small boutiques, vinyl shops and galleries. Its audience is mostly younger people, students and artists, who consider themselves alternative or underground, with an interest in cultural and political happenings. This is particularly interesting considering Pigneto's history: For the most part of the 20th century, it was a marginal area within Rome, which rose from the status of one of the city's borgate, a kind of peripheral slum, to a working-class neighbourhood. The following sections will explore Pigneto's historical and cultural background more in-depth and investigate how different factors might have influenced its recent transformation into a gentrified nightlife zone.
4.1 Historical and Cultural Background
Pigneto emerged between the end of the 19th century and the 1930s (Scandurra 2010). After the Risorgimento, the unification of the Italian peninsula into the Kingdom of Italy in 1870, the government was moved from Florence to Rome. At that time, Rome was a city of about 230.000 residents with vast open spaces, confined within the Aurelian walls and the sixteenth-seventeenth century ring. The land outside of this frame, including the territory of today's Pigneto, was empty or agricultural (Kostof 1976: 7). Other European capitals such as London or Paris were several times bigger at that stage, both in population and in physical size. In 1873, the first of numerous master plans was designed, intending the expansion of the city to bring it on a par (ibid.). On open spaces within the walls, for example the Esquiline, Viminal and Quirinal hills, new construction was supposed to create housing for additional 150.000 residents (ibid.: 14).
Rome had not been an industrial city before the unification and did not become one after; on one hand, the industrialisation of the north was favoured, on the other hand the state also discouraged industrial development, because it deemed a high presence of working-class residents in the new capital potentially troublesome (ibid.: 11). Instead, Rome's population consisted of ancient aristocracy, a small middle class, merchants and artisans as well as a large subproletariat (Rhodes 2007: 1). But after becoming Roma capitale, the city grew more rapidly than expected. Workers, especially from the
underdeveloped south of Italy, moved to the capital to find jobs (Kostof 1976: 14). Poorer residents were displaced after their ghettos were destroyed in order to make the city 'hygienic', broaden streets and construct governmental buildings. Plans that led to the displacement of thousands were for example the creation of Corso Vittorio Valentino II or Via Cavour as well as demolitions and renovations around Piazza del Popolo or the Jewish ghetto (Rhodes 2007: 2). Until 1900, Rome's population had doubled and the city had started to expand its old confines (Kostof 1973: 240). Poorer residents could not afford the high rents in the restored capital and thus, due to the influx of workers from outside and the displacement of poor populations from within the city, informal neighbourhoods – called borgate – grew outside of the classical walls. Pigneto, whose territory was mainly agricultural before, was one of these emerging areas in the eastern periphery (Montuori 2007: 6).
In the following decades, Rome and especially the borgate kept on growing. The peripheral neighbourhoods were mostly built by their residents and therefore unplanned and unregulated with improvised shanties, a chaotic infrastructure and no connection to public supplies. In the 1920s, the Cooperativa Termini constructed the so-called villini in Pigneto, small one- to three-story town houses with gardens for the railway workers (Postiglione 2008: 86). As one of few zones with some industrial development, Pigneto also housed many residents who worked in family-led factories along Via Casilina and Via Prenestina (Annunziata 2010: 27). But the area remained largely unregulated and impoverished. Especially Benito Mussolini's plans to 'sanitise' Rome during the fascist regime between 1922 and 1944 led to a massive expulsion of lower-class Romans from the centre and the construction of borgate rapidissime, fast-built peripheral neighbourhoods to isolate and control the poor population (Rhodes 2007: 4). Mussolini promoted Romanità, the spirit of ancient Romans or revival of imperial Rome (Olariu 2012: 351; 355); in the 1930s, he for example demolished housing around the Capitoline hill in order to 'free' ancient structures, sending the now homeless residents to the borgate. Mussolini's projects to 'liberate' the historic centre destroyed over 5.500 dwellings, evicting tens of thousands (ibid.: 5). He wanted Rome's centre to be predominantly inhabited by the bourgeois class. Neighbourhoods like Trastevere or Monti, traditionally inhabited by merchants and artisans, were seen as breeding grounds for the criminal classes, communism and anarchism (Herzfeld 2009: 124). As a countermeasure, the often narrow, winding streets were broadened for easier surveillance and suspects were relocated. Simultaneously, migrants from rural Italy tried to escape starvation in the countryside during fascism and settled down in the Roman periphery (Rhodes 2007: 10).
Considering how the regime treated lower-classes – deeming their presence inappropriate for the capital, expropriating, displacing and isolating them – it is thus not surprising that Pigneto also became a place of resistance against the fascists, particularly during the German occupation and after the bombardment by the American allies in 1943, which destroyed parts of the neighbourhood (Scandurra 2005). Rome's poor population was highly affected by the war: Essential foods were rationed and access to coal and water was scarce (Cornell University 2008: 6.6). In response, Pigneto
residents tried to sabotage the Germans' supply of oil, food and weapons, which led to the deportation of many antifascists (ibid.: 6.7). The neighbourhood gained fame as a home of the resistance, which later informed the art of the Italian left and communist movement.
Mussolini's regulation measures to create a sanitised, imperial version of Rome also included the cultural landscape. In regards to cinema, he had founded the studio complex Cinecittà, where most films were shot in an artificial scenery. The Italian film industry E.N.I.C. – Ente Nazionale Italiano Cinematografico was heavily censored; crime, sex and 'ugliness' were banned, patriotism, obedience to authority and traditional values were propagated (Turro 2012: 36). As a response to censorship and romanticizing living conditions, the Italian neorealism gained momentum as a film movement towards the end of World War II. Neorealists chose torn-down, impoverished neighbourhoods and amateur actors to show realistic stories of the everyday struggle and misery of subproletarian and working-class members of society in Italy during the war and thereafter. The informal shacks and dusty alleys of Pigneto were therefore an ideal location. Rosselini, who is considered the founding figure of neorealism, chose Pigneto for several external shots of Roma Città Aperta, which is seen as the first important neorealist work and explores the Nazi occupation and the resistance against it (Rhodes 2007: 34). The most iconic scene, the shooting of the main protagonist's pregnant fiancée Pina, is filmed in Via Raimondo Montecuccoli, an extension of Circonvallazione Casilina (Döge 2002: 835). Script writer Jone Tuzzi said about the scene (ibid.: 774):
In the place where we filmed the raid in the courtyard […] the same had truly happened, a few months before.
This quote implies that even though Rosselini was forced to shoot on location due to the destruction or occupation of many studios, it was at the same time his will to depict the war with historical precision. That he randomly chose Pigneto as a setting of the film's dramatic highlight is unlikely; rather, it is reasonable to assume that he wanted to represent the suffering of impoverished parts of Rome under the Nazi's reign as well as to emphasise the bravery and solidarity of the peripheral population. This also certainly further reinforced Pigneto's reputation as a nest of the resistance.
In the post-war period of the 1950s and 1960s, Italy experienced il boom with massive economic growth; Rome again expanded rapidly and had reached two million residents by 1960, which means the population had doubled in size within 30 years (Rhodes 2007: 11f). Even though it remained underdeveloped as an industrial area, it became an important centre of banking and finance as well as governmental bureaucracy. Poorer Italians came to the capital to find work in the service and construction sector (ibid.: 12). At the same time, the historical centre was further sanitised in order to preserve it and attract tourism (Annunziata 2010: 27). Together with Rome's residential growth, this caused a housing shortage, which resulted in the rushed construction of apartment buildings in the periphery.
In this period, numerous films scenes were shot in Pigneto. Most Roman neorealist filmmakers were focused on poor living conditions of the working and subworking classes, which were a consequence of Mussolini's politics, the expansion of Rome and the housing shortage. Pigneto served, among others, as a backdrop for Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951), La Domenica Della Buona Gente (Anton Giulio Majano, 1953), Il Ferroviere (Pietro Germi, 1956) or Accattone (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1961).
Especially the director, writer and poet Pasolini, who was also a member of the Italian Communist Party, had a strong relationship with the periphery; he arrived in Rome in the 1950s and lived in the borgata of Ponte Mammolo in the east of the city (Ng 2007: 6). He has been cited with the words Rome, ringed by its inferno of borgate, is stupendous right now.10 Pasolini was fascinated with the rough and unrefined, in which he found poetry. For him, it was precisely the ugliness and misery of the periphery that represented the true Rome and made the city stupendous. Pasolini often frequented Necci 1924, a restaurant in Pigneto's Via Fanfulla da Lodi that still exists (De Fiore 2015: 6). He set his 1951 book Ragazzi di Vita ('Boys of Life') in the neighbourhood, telling the story of a subproletarian thief (Annunziata 2011: 612). In his opinion, other neorealists did not depict the borgate in a satisfactory way. In an 1958 essay for the magazine Vie Nuove, he laments:
There is no one in Italy who does not have at least a vague picture in his mind of the shantytowns around Rome. But it’s always the same: Italian culture in this last decade has been anything but realist, except in the specialised fields of the essay and investigative reporting, inspired by Marxist thought. […] The fact remains that the shantytowns one sees in most more or less courageous Italian films are not the same as the real shantytowns. In fact, I don’t think that any writer or director would have the courage to fully represent this reality. He would find it too ugly, too inconceivable, and thus would be afraid of dealing with this “particular,” or marginal specific phenomenon. Certain low points of humanity seem impossible to treat in art; apparently certain psychological deviations resulting from abject social surroundings cannot be represented.11 Pasolini was determined to depict the ugly, marginal and psychologically deviant. Consequently, with his first film Accattone ('Tramp') Pasolini took the cinematographic representation of the borgate into his own hands. Pigneto was the main location for this movie; the title character, a pimp and thief – similar to the main protagonist in Ragazzi di Vita –, lives in a humble shack in Via Ettore Giovenale12 and meets his friends and foes in the streets and bars of the neighbourhood. The dusty roads and decaying facades of the periphery present a strong contrast to the opulent churches and broad streets of central Rome. The borgate are not depicted as distinct neighbourhoods, but rather deliver a common image of the poor conditions outside the centre; Pigneto is therefore not distinguished as a certain place, it is a symbol for the borgate in general. This exemplary place is struck with poverty, criminality, violence and has, because of a lack of high-rise buildings, a rural look; without context, in many scenes
10 Letter from 1952, in: The Letters of Pier Paolo Pasolini, vol. 1, 1940–1954, ed. Nico Naldini, trans. Stuart Hood
(London: Quartet Books, 1992): 331.
11 Pasolini, P. (1950-1966) : Stories from the City of God: Sketches and Chronicles of Rome. Ed. Walter Siti,
trans. Marina Harss. New York: Handsel Books, 2003: 177f.
it is not recognizable that this impoverished village is in walking distance from the main station of Italy's capital, that it is even part of any city. Since Pasolini was so eager to represent the 'real' periphery, it is reasonable to assume that these scenes depict the continuous marginal status of the neighbourhood and its inhabitants in a relatively realistic way. It is at least beyond doubt that the way he and other neorealists depicted Pigneto turned it into a symbol of poverty and marginality in post-war Rome.
Only in the 1960s and 70s, social housing in the form of high-rise apartment blocks was increasingly constructed in Pigneto, thus changing its look significantly (Postiglione 2008: 92). Had it before been mainly a neighbourhood of rudimentary shacks and villini, the introduction of these large residential buildings resulted in today's diverse cityscape. Small, winding alleyways alternate with broad roads, hovels are mingled with small single-family homes and high-rise condominiums. Also because of the new housing opportunities, Pigneto evolved from an impoverished shantytown to a working-class quarter in this phase. The inhabitants, particularly the ones who had come as poor workers from southern Italy and had lived in Pigneto for decades, started considering themselves true locals, proud pignetari (ibid.: 93).
This period of naturalisation ended with the 1980s. Italy as a former emigration country started becoming a destination for immigrants. Particularly people from Bangladesh, India, China and Senegal settled down in Pigneto, often moving to the old barracks the Italian residents no longer wanted to live in (ibid.). More and more pignetari sold their property and left the neighbourhood. This process has been described as a terzo mondializzazione, a 'third worldisation' (ibid.: 94): Between 1991 and 2004, Pigneto lost 10% of its population (Annunziata 2011: 602); at the same time, the concentration of foreign immigrants in the Prenestino-Labicano area increased from 2% to 11% (Montuori 2007: 8). This is when Pigneto established a reputation as a multi-ethnic neighbourhood with foreign food shops, call centres and ethnic bazaars (Annunziata 2010: 26). It thus remained marginal, even though this status was not founded on the presence of subproletarian Italians anymore, but on the influx of poor international immigrants.
In the 1990s, Pigneto is still used as a film setting; it is for example depicted in the 1991 drama Ultrà (Ricky Tognazzi) about football fans from the Roman periphery and in the 1994 movie Nestore, l'ultima corsa ('Nestore, the Last Race', Alberto Sordi) about an old Roman carriage driver and his elderly horse.13 These films have in common that they depict lower-class, deviant people, just as the neorealist works from the past, suggesting that Pigneto was still considered an appropriate representation for this population.
Overall, Pigneto's short history of the late 19th and the 20th century not only shows an architectural, but also a social and cultural heterogeneity. Subproletarian in its roots, Pigneto had been a poor neighbourhood since its emergence. Its development was often shaped by state-led measures:
The 'sanitising' of historic Rome created the periphery and fed it with more and more displaced lower-class residents. War and postwar living conditions in the countryside and the growing service industry of the capital increasingly attracted workers, who could not afford the high rents of the centre. The depiction in neorealist films reinforced and perpetuated Pigneto's status as impoverished and marginal. Despite migration waves from different origins, it remained marginal until recently; even though the living conditions in the area and the economic state of its residents improved within the 1960s and 70s, it again became known for poverty due to the influx of poor immigrants. Especially in the light of Pigneto's continuous marginalisation, it is interesting that it has turned into a desirable neighbourhood within the last years. This transformation, which has been noticeable since the late 1990s, will be explored in the following section.
4.2 Recent Development
After losing 10% of its population between 1991 and 2004, Pigneto started to grow again by 8,5% until 2010 (Annunziata 2010: 26). Interestingly, the population of the larger Prenestino-Labicano area decreased by almost 5% between 2004 and 201014. The reason to Pigneto's growth could be on one hand the further influx of immigrants, but this development affects the whole quarter of Prenestino-Labicano; on the other hand, Pigneto also became attractive for young people, students, academics and artists in the sense of a gentrification process.
The prices of residential real estate within the whole Municipio VI decreased from 1995 to 1998 and then started to rise; in 2003, it was 24,7% higher than in 1994, which is more than Roman average (Comune di Roma 2007: 95). Between 2004 and 2007, Municipio VI additionally had the highest increase in retail space of the whole Roman metropolitan area (ibid.: 90). Since these data are valid for the wider area of Municipio VI, it can be assumed that a similar – or even more significant – development has been occurring in Pigneto, which is the most central of the Municipio VI neighbourhoods. Already in 2005, the developments in Pigneto have been called a real estate boom (Scandurra 2005). Rising prices and an increase in commercial space mean there is both less living space available and it is getting less affordable; this implies that the social and economic composition of the area is changing towards a wealthier population.
A report published in 2008 by the Cornell University mainly focuses on l'isola pedonale, the pedestrian zone between Via L'Acquila, Via Casilina and Circonvallazione Casilina15. It demonstrates numerous renovation projects and already restored buildings as well as a higher concentration of youth-oriented businesses instead of immigrant ones (Cornell University 2008: 6.24f). Especially the sporadic pattern of restoration projects in the pedestrian zone is congruent with sequences in other gentrifying areas such as Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg and San Francisco's Mission District, which further
14 cf. Roma dati: Popolazione per zona toponomastica: www.laboratorioroma.it/Banca%20dati/09_zone
%20toponomastiche.htm [retrieved 24/05/2016].
fortifies the suspicion of a gentrification process and is indicative of more intense speculation in the future (ibid.: 6.25). The report as well argues that an outflow of older residents, who utilise the isola pedonale during the day, and an inflow of younger populations, who frequent bars and restaurants, is observable. It also demonstrates that many establishments stay open late, which further suggests an adaptation to a youth or tourist audience (ibid.: 6.26).
The first influx of younger, more educated and wealthier residents in the late 1990s established little businesses such as wine bars or libraries (Annunziata 2010: 26). This laid the foundation for the Pigneto of today, which is full of restaurants, bars, cafés as well as galleries and fashion shops. These locations particularly serve the aesthetic of a clientele that considers itself alternative or underground, in Italy often somewhat condescendingly called the radical chic; an audience that sets great value upon a public image of being cultured, creative and sophisticated as well as socially and politically aware. Towards the evening these young, radical chic people fill the streets for a drink or a bite, particularly in the isola pedonale, before visiting a club, theatre, cinema, vernissage or concert.
As of today, Pigneto's cinematographic history is still well-remembered, as evident in numerous articles or videos.16 For example, there was a neighbourhood festival in May 2015 called Pigneto Città Aperta17 and a marble plaque in Via Raimondo Montecuccoli 17 commemorates Rosselini's filming18
.. Especially Pasolini is often referenced; throughout Pigneto, one can find street art dedicated to the filmmaker, creating a link to the past through a modern medium19; Necci 1924 sells Pasolini buttons20 and held an event called Pasolini Pigneto21. Furthermore, numerous articles and travel guides22 focus on Pasolini. That the cinematographic background is also used in commercial ways – for example by selling Pasolini articles – implies that it contributes to the attractiveness of the neighbourhood. Even if Pigneto is no longer impoverished and marginalised, the film-influenced association with anti-fascist resistance, high criminality and poor living conditions might have increased its desirability as an authentic place.
16 for example cf: www.romeing.it/ciak-pigneto-neo-realist-cinema; www.romarcord.com/?page_id=295;
www.romasegreta.it/roma-nel-cinema/roma-citta-aperta.html; www.visitlazio.com/en/dettaglio/-/turismo/618797/roma-citta-aperta; ivoblom.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/on-the-trail-of-italian-cinema-open-city; www.emilyroche.com/neorealism-memory-lane-in-pigneto/; www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFbMiqSKLqk; www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUldHWDxf-E [retrieved 22/05/2016]. 17 cf. roma.fanpage.it/pigneto-citta-aperta-il-quartiere-in-festa-workshop-street-art-e-concerti [retrieved 22/05/2016]. 18 see fig. 4.
19 see for example fig. 7 and 8.
20 cf. www.necci1924.com/shop [retrieved 23/05/2016].
21 cf.
roma.corriere.it/notizie/arte_e_cultura/14_maggio_04/pasolini-pigneto-oltre-ricordo-53bea1a2-d3b4-11e3-a38d-e8752493b296.shtml [retrieved 22/05/2016].
22 for example cf. pigneto.romatoday.it/pigneto/pigneto-quartiere-accattone-e-pier-paolo-pasolini.html;
www.wantedinrome.com/news/pasolinis-rome/;
www.ansa.it/lifestyle/notizie/people/storie/2014/07/31/uno-scrittore-e-un-luogo-pierpaolo-pasolini-e-il-pigneto_559ffc4c-2530-4835-b301-3873341ff778.html; N.a. (2009): Film + Travel Europe: Traveling the World Through Your Favorite Movies. Museyon Guides. New York: 53.
It has been academically explored why Pigneto is gentrifying. Montiglione (2008) writes that in recent years the terzo mondializzazione of the 1980s and 1990s, during which Italians left and immigrants arrived in high numbers, has been replaced by a true and proper gentrification. She claims it were initially the high prices of historic Rome that made younger people find a place to live in the former periphery, now relatively central (Montiglione 2008: 94). Scandurra (2005) constitutes the process with higher educated, wealthier Romans wanting to leave the chaotic city centre in favour of a more popular – in the sense of folkloric or rural – area. The resulting cultural fusion of older locals, young Romans and immigrants might have further increased Pigneto's appeal (Montuori 2007: 31). Annunziata, as mentioned before, explains Pigneto's attractiveness as a combination of its historical image and a desire of diversity (Annunziata 2010: 26f). She also writes that the perceived rurality of places like Pigneto are part of renewed form of urban desire connected to notions of pre-urban villages (Annunziata 2008: 70). At the same time, a lively cultural and nightlife scene developed in Pigneto, which contradicts and threatens the idea of rurality.
There are also spatial and architectural changes observable in the neighbourhood: Between October 2014 and April 2015, the pedestrian zone has been restructured. The pavement was renewed, old market stands were removed and wooden benches, green areas as well as bicycle stands installed.23 These restorations suggest the city of Rome has an interest in further establishing Pigneto as a recreational nightlife zone that caters to the needs of a younger population. Since June 2015, Pigneto also has its own metro station on the new line C, which for now connects it to the eastern periphery, but only one stop further into the centre.24 With the opening of the station San Giovanni, which is scheduled for December 2016, Pigneto will be connected to the other Roman metro lines. Since from the centre it so far is mainly reachable by bus, this might also lead to it becoming more popular for tourists.
Alongside the increased popularity under entertainment-seeking younger people, Pigneto has also become a hub for drug dealing, which has increased incidences of violence (Postiglione 2008: 158). In this light, the recent restoration projects can also be understood as efforts to sanitise the area, making it harder for dealers to hide and find costumers. Additionally, an increased police presence and security cameras in Via del Pigneto are supposed to bring the situation under control. Yet, drug commerce and consumption are still apparent in Pigneto. Especially in the isola pedonale, dealers, often members of Rome's considerable undocumented immigrant population, can be seen approaching pedestrians, and Piazza del Pigneto, a small green area across Via L'Acquila is often frequented by addicts. In backstreets, used syringes are a common view. Thus, even though Pigneto is no longer impoverished or marginalised, its gentrification might have produced new problems: It is nowadays
23 cf. roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2015/04/25/news/pigneto-112830768/ [retrieved: 24/05/2016]. 24 cf. www.metrocspa.it/t.asp?t=18 [retrieved 25/05/2016].
also considered a place of antisocial behaviour, of dealers, junkies and violent encounters with the police.
4.4 Media Attention and Tourism
Pigneto has received considerable media attention during recent years, both nationally and internationally. For the Italian news coverage, an analysis with the Google tool Trends shows a constant increase in searches for news.25 Especially a comparison to Trastevere, a very popular tourist and nightlife destination in central Rome and Torpignattara, another Prenestino-Labicano neighbourhood bordering Pigneto that has not undergone significant gentrification yet, demonstrates that the search for news about Pigneto increasingly approximates the one for news about Trastevere, while the one for Torpignattara mostly remains at a low level.26 This is an implication of a rising awareness and interest. Calculating the search volume for the general Google web search paints a similar picture27: While the interest in Trastevere between 2004 and 2016 has been significantly higher than for both Pigneto and Torpignattara, Pigneto's volume has been constantly rising and Torpignattara's has only slightly increased.
Internationally, the result of the analysis is less obvious, but still clear; when analysing the news search volume worldwide, Pigneto is receiving increasingly more attention, especially in comparison to Torpignattara, even though still significantly less than Trastevere28. For general web searches, Trastevere as a tourist hotspot receives unsurprisingly by far the most interest; Pigneto and Torpignattara both had a very low search volume in 2004, but Pigneto's graph has been on the rise ever since, while Torpignattara's has only increased very slightly.29
A random search for Italian news articles about Pigneto implies that the main topic of interest during the last years has been the drug commerce situation30, but there are also numerous editorials
25 see fig. 9. The start of the search was set to June 2008 (instead of January 2008), because a rapid leap for May
2008 otherwise would distort the graph. In May 2008 a neo-Nazi mob attacking and destroying immigrant-owned businesses led to highly increased interest, cf.
www.repubblica.it/2008/05/sezioni/cronaca/pestaggio-nazi-roma/pestaggio-nazi-roma/pestaggio-nazi-roma.html [retrieved 27/05/2016].
26 see fig 10. In January 2012 there is a rapid leap for Torpignattara due to a double homicide in the
neighbourhood, cf. www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2012/01/16/duplice-omicidio-torpignattara-trovato-impiccato-killer/184204 [retrieved 27/05/2016].
27 see fig. 11. 28 see fig. 12. 29 see fig. 13.
30 for example cf. 23/05/2010:
roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2010/05/23/news/droga_rivolta_famiglie_pigneto-4274500/; 14/10/2013: roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2013/10/14/news/marino_ripuliremo_il_pigneto_dagli_spacciatori_di_droga-68601379/; 08/08/2014: www.ilmessaggero.it/roma/cronaca/pigneto_san_lorenzo_telecamere_antispaccio_spacciatori_droga-488562.html; 31/07/2015: www.ilmessaggero.it/roma/cronaca/pigneto_pusher_assalto_paura_residenti-1171685.html; 28/05/2016: newsgo.it/2016/05/controlli-antidroga-al-pigneto-trullo-san-lorenzo-12-arresti [retrieved 28/07/2016].
