“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 [email protected]

Thesis supervisor: Dr. Olga Sezneva Second reader: Dr. Linda van de Kamp

07/07/2016 Word count: 24.791 Abstract

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.

i Table of Contents

1. Introduction 1 2. Theoretical Framework 3 2.1 Literature Overview 3 2.2 The Case of Pigneto 6 3. Methodology 8 3.1 Empirical Data Collection 8 3.1.1 Interviews 8 3.1.2 Walk-Alongs 9 3.1.3 Short Survey 10 3.2 Empirical Data Analysis 11 3.3 Media Analysis 12 3.4 Short Film 12 4. Pigneto 13 4.1 Historical and Cultural Background 13 4.2 Recent Development 18 4.3 Media Attention and Tourism 21 5. Empirical Results 24 5.1 Registers of Evaluation 24 5.1.1 New Residents 25 5.1.1.1 Originality 26 5.1.1.2 Young Lifestyle 31 5.1.1.3 Problems 36 5.1.2 Old Residents 37 5.1.2.1 Change 38 5.1.2.2 Originality 43 5.2 Socio-demographic Factors 44 6. Discussion 47 7. Limitations 50 8. Conclusion 52 Bibliography 54 Appendix iv

ii 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.

1 Quote from interview 10 of the short survey, see appendix xvi.

1 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 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.

3 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

4 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

5 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

6 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.

7 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,

2 see chapter 4.3.

8 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 afterwards 4. 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.

9 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. 6 see appendix: xivff; xixff.

10 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

11 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. 8 For a digital version, the film was uploaded to YouTube, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=QydWqdFAJqk.

12 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

9 see fig. 1.

13 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

14 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.

15 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. 12 On Accattone's house one can find a memorial plaque nowadays, see fig. 6.

16 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:

13 cf. www.bandb-rome.it/roma_pigneto_cinema.html [retrieved 05/06/2016].

17 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]. 15 see fig. 1.

18 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

17 18 Aperta and a marble plaque in Via Raimondo Montecuccoli 17 commemorates Rosselini's filming .. 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.

19 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].

20 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].

21 about Pigneto's history and recent development.31 These articles emphasise the contrasts of pushers, radical chic, decay and trendy restaurants, often accentuated with photos of Pigneto's abundance of street art. As mentioned before, Pigneto's cinematographic history is also often referenced. International media focus on the touristic side of the neighbourhood: The New York Times called Pigneto Rome's answer to Bushwick, Brooklyn32 and Vanity Fair described it with the headline Hipsters, Tattoos, and Strollers in Bars33. Blogs present it as an insider's tip, an alternative to the overcrowded centre of Rome: Aside from that, the other reason I’m underwhelmed by what most people find to be an overwhelmingly beautiful city is my complete lack of the tourist gene. [..] So, much like Paris, I’m hoping that by stepping off the tourist trail and exploring lesser known neighbourhoods, I’ll finally ‘get’ Rome. […] Sitting just outside the Aurelian Walls that enclose Rome’s historic centre, Pigneto isn’t one of Rome’s 22 rioni but rather a quartieri urbani– one of the 35 districts that surround the historical centre. I chose it on the recommendation of Lisa, an Australian blog follower who lives in Pigneto. She said it wasn’t charming or postcard pretty but worth a look.[...] Was working-class and dangerous, now trendy with an edge – pushers live on the same street that sells the best gelato I’ve ever tasted.34

This article by an Australian travel blogger describes the potential touristic appeal of Pigneto: It is different from the centre, but still not too far away from it, it has a gritty aesthetic with an edge, but still conveniently offers products that tourists crave, for example Italian ice cream. It is therefore not surprising that Pigneto has been discovered by tourist guides and websites, marketing its alternative image. Lonely Planet calls it the heart of bohemia and the Roman answer to London's Shoreditch35, there are walking tours describing Pigneto as pleasantly tourist-free, one of Rome's hippest neighbourhoods36 and a website – tellingly called Not For Tourist Rome – offers a street art tour37. On Airbnb, the area is tagged with the terms artistic, bohemian, fashionable, multicultural, trendy, graffiti, authentic vibe, young community and artisan shops38. A holiday apartment offer praises Pigneto with the words: The Pigneto is known as one of the most trendy, fashionable and artistic Rome's [sic] neighbourhoods, famous as the favourite set of Pasolini and Neo Realism cinema movement [sic], a trendy area mixed with the flavor of the old and authentic Rome.39

Similarly, there exists a bed and breakfast in Via Raimondo Montecuccoli under the name Roma Città Aperta, which advertises with the film and the location's cultural relevance. Another bed and breakfast, in Via Braccio da Montone, has a section on its website that lists films made in Pigneto and calls the

31 for example cf. 17/06/2014: www.vice.com/it/read/pigneto-crisi-di-nervi-degrado; 06/07/2014: www.ilmessaggero.it/roma/cronaca/pigneto_quartiere_ristoranti_spacciatori_pasolini-485984.html; 18/05/2016: 24ilmagazine.ilsole24ore.com/2016/05/dal-verme-pigneto/ [retrieved 28/05/2016]. 32 cf. www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/travel/in-rome-an-enclave-of-cool.html [retrieved 26/07/2016]. 33 cf. www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/09/brooklyn-of-rome-pigneto [retrieved 26/07/2016]. 34 cf. blog entry from 04/06/2012 on 52suburbs.com/2012/06/04/pigneto/ [retrieved 27/05/2016]. 35 cf. www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/rome/travel-tips-and-articles/76709 [retrieved 26/07/2016]. 36 cf. katieparla.com/introducing-pigneto-prenestina-and-the-periphery/ [retrieved 26/07/2016]. 37 cf. www.notfortouristrome.com/index.php/en/eventi/46/event_details [retrieved 26/07/2016]. 38 cf. www.airbnb.com/locations/rome/pigneto?locale=en [retrieved 26/07/2016]. 39 see Airbnb offer airbnb.com/rooms/690097 [retrieved 23/05/2016].

22 area a little urban island40. These offers evidently address a touristic audience that appreciates cultural history over regular sightseeing attractions, an audience that enjoys the peculiar, a bohemian, artistic and authentic environment. It is particularly interesting that international media like to compare Pigneto to the gentrified neighbourhoods of other cities (i.e. Brooklyn, New York or Shoreditch, London); this implies that there is a common experience when visiting gentrifying areas, that they can fulfil a certain touristic expectation. In this light, Pigneto is maybe no longer an alternative to tourism, but much rather an obvious option for the alternative tourist.

Overall, analysing Pigneto's history with its recent development and an increased interest of news and touristic media suggests that it is in a state of transformation. The interphase within the gradual transition from working-class to fully gentrified is a particularly interesting moment to explore old and new residents' perceptions of the changes within the neighbourhood and their notion of its authenticity. Pigneto's history of marginalisation, deprivation and resistance, reinforced by movie images, as well as its rebirth as a diverse, artistic neighbourhood might have led to it being perceived as an authentic place.

40 cf. www.about-bed-and-breakfast.com/en/pigneto.html [retrieved 11/06/2016].

23 5. Empirical Results

This chapter will present the results of the conducted fieldwork. It will analyse the data of the in-depth interviews, walk-alongs and survey with the new residents and afterwards with the old residents. Their perceptions will be categorised into the found main registers of evaluation. As mentioned in the methodology chapter, the age of a person was not the most relevant attribute in order to separate interview respondents into old and new. It was rather the time span for which they have lived in Pigneto. People who moved to Pigneto roughly around the millennium change or later were considered new residents, while those who have been living there for longer were considered old residents. Especially within the in-depth interviews the candidates also had some socio-demographic characteristics that are relevant for the findings. Thus, the chapter will be concluded with a short analysis of these factors.

5.1 Registers of Evaluation Seven in-depth interviews were conducted with overall nine participants. Six of these respondents were new residents and three of them old residents. With four new and two old residents, walk-alongs were conducted to receive more illustrative descriptions of Pigneto's perceived atmosphere, aesthetic and population. Additionally, 30 short interviews were conducted with 16 new and 14 old residents, since the sample of the in-depth data collection was very small. The sample of the short survey is of course not representative; still, before analysing the data in-depth, I want to give a rough indication of the respondents' overall assessment of Pigneto41. Out of the 16 new respondents, 94% see Pigneto rather positively nowadays; seven were positive and eight mixed tending positive; only one person assessed it mixed tending negative. Within the 14 old respondents however, all four opinions had three counts and two informants did not have a clear opinion. Thus, both 43% of the old respondents assessed it overall negative and overall positive. The in-depth analysis will explain this disparity between new and old residents. In the following sections, the discovered narratives and patterns are going to be analysed based on exemplary quotes from the interviews and short survey.42

41 The overall opinions of the short interviews were categorised as positive, mixed tending positive, no clear opinion, mixed tending negative and negative. For example, a respondent who overall stated they liked Pigneto a lot, but that some problems appeared during the last years, was categorised as mixed tending positive, and a respondent stating that there are still friendly people, but it used to be much better, was categorised as mixed tending negative. 42 All in-depth interview quotes are taken from the appendix (see xxvi). From the short survey, only selected quotes were transcribed for the analysis. A summary of all survey interviews in note form can be found in the appendix (see xiv).

24 5.1.1 New Residents Four in-depth interviews with altogether six people have been led with new residents. The respondents were: Marco43, 29, Andrea, 26, and Giacomo, 26, who work in a design and communication agency in Pigneto and were interviewed as a group. Marco and Andrea live in Pigneto since one year, while Giacomo lives 15 kilometres from Rome and commutes there; Fiona, 35, works for an NGO, first lived in Rome from 2005 to 2008 and moved in Pigneto since 2013; Nina, 27, is a German PhD candidate, who lives in Rome since one year and in Pigneto since February; and lastly, Valentino, 34, a journalist and travel blogger, who was born in Rome and lives in the Prenestino area, two kilometres from Pigneto. Nina, Valentino as well as Marco and Giacomo also went on walk-alongs with me to show me 'their' Pigneto. I asked them to take me with them during a 'typical activity' and describe whatever they find remarkable, typical, attractive or unattractive.44 Additionally, 16 new residents were interviewed for the short survey. Even though Valentino does not live in Pigneto, he was still a valuable interview respondent, since he contributed the perspective of a person who mainly visits Pigneto for leisure activities. On his blog, he has written an article about the neighbourhood, describing it as a combination of tradition, alternative atmosphere and multiculturalism, also emphasizing its history of poverty and neorealist cinema: Once upon a time there was a working class area in Rome, not far from the centre, where a famous director and writer would shoot movies or just hang around to meet "the people of the street". […] At that time (the sixties) Pigneto was pretty much a poor quarter, although misery was intertwined with flashes of bourgeoisie. Needless to say, time and modernisation haven't spared it from their irresistible action, so it is quite a different place nowadays. Nevertheless, it has retained its peculiar character like few areas in Rome have. The working class taste is still there, blended with new, and different, intellectualism and poverty.45

During the data analysis, it became apparent that the elements this article is describes are common patterns within the narratives of all new residents. To examine repeating topics within the interviews, the material was coded as described in chapter 2. I worked both with in-vivo codes that were taken directly out of the text and with codes that described terms conceptually. Despite a small sample, theoretical saturation of the data was reached quite fast, which means that no new relevant categories emerged when adding new interviews. This implies that there was a certain amount of consensus within the responses. During the axial coding part of the analysis, relationships between the codes were established. The three most relevant broad categories of registers of evaluation proved to be: 1) originality of Pigneto, 2) young lifestyle in Pigneto and 3) problems in Pigneto. In the following sections these categories will be explored further. I will analyse how exactly the respondents perceive Pigneto, what constitutes its

43 All names have been changed for anonymity. 44 For the routes of the new resident walk-alongs see fig. 14-16. 45 cf. theexplorerjournal.com/journal/street-art-and-aperitivo-in-pigneto [retrieved 26/05/2016].

25 appeal and if their perspectives are congruent with the concept of urban authenticity based on exemplary, illustrative quotes.

5.1.1.1 Originality A topic that came up in all interviews was a perceived originality of Pigneto. The respondents connect the neighbourhood with a certain rurality, traditionality and with real Romans. These perceptions depend on different attributes, which will now be exemplified. Uh, well, I like the fact that it looks like a little, come se dice [how do you say], un piccolo paese, like a little village. Well, I like the little buildings and, well, but I don't like what is now the pedestrian zone. I don't like it at all. – Fiona

This quote implies that Pigneto's rurality relies on the presence of little buildings. It is certain architecture that is associated with a village. At the same time, the pedestrian zone in Via del Pigneto, which is the most frequented nightlife area of Pigneto, seems to be perceived differently. Yes, the hidden gardens behind. Even though I think this one is deserted, but the next house is very beautiful. With these gardens in front and these old walls. It feels as if you're not even in the city anymore. – Nina

A: In my area, you don't have short buildings like this. One, two, three story buildings. It's just like the typical palazzo from the 60s with nothing beautiful about it. But here you can actually find some nice, old buildings or some small villas with gardens and stuff. – Valentino

These statements reinforce the impression that Pigneto is not perceived as a typical city landscape, for example due to the presence of small and old houses with gardens. Especially compared to predominantly high-rise areas such as Valentino's neighbourhood, these buildings are considered more beautiful and at the same time rural. Both Nina and Valentino particularly pointed out the beauty of these small, often one-family houses with gardens during our walk-alongs. But also when Pigneto is compared to certain other areas with old, low-rise architecture, it is seen as more original: Trastevere is a lot more touristic and everything is very concentrated on little space, which is also nice, but sometimes I don't feel like that, also because of all the tourists. […] Yes, and here it is still a bit more spacious than there. It's a bit more original. Not so overrun by tourists and not so concentrated, you can go from bar to bar with a bit of space in between. Except from the Via del Pigneto part [the pedestrian zone], which is a section that I kind of don't like too much, because it all looks the same and every bar is the same. – Nina

It is thus not only the architecture, but also how the zone is used that makes it attractive. Here, the pedestrian zone is as well perceived as less appealing than the rest of Pigneto, because it became too much like Trastevere, a wildly popular tourist and nightlife district close to the historical centre. Places for nightlife consumption, such as bars, are appreciated, but even more so if there is space between them and if they are not the same. This suggests that part of the originality of Pigneto is the presence of distinct bars and residential areas. Furthermore, a lack of tourists is perceived positively as well.

26 Rome has more beauties. The people know more the centre than this little country 46. But this little country for me is more interesting than the centre, because here you can see the true beautiful, true Roman people, the true life, the quotidian life. The centre is just for tourists, I go to Paris, I go to Berlin, I go to Rome to visit the centre, but OK... – Marco

There seems to be a perceived contrast between the centre of Rome and Pigneto: Pigneto is not the centre of a city, it is a village. It is more true in regards to its population and the daily life that can be observed there. It is claimed that the centre is more appealing to the people, but the respondent has recognised that Pigneto is in fact more interesting. Being able to perceive the beauty of the true life, the beautiful, true Roman people is described as a feature of a more refined taste than the one of a common person. Central Rome is like the centre of any European capitals, just for tourists and for the brand- headed: A: We have people who are very easy, not brand-headed. M: Pigneto is like the south of Italy. A little country where everybody is... it's more slow, more cool than other places. For example, the Colosseum, the centre, Trastevere, Prati are the centre of a city like Rome, a big town, and the consequence are the more expensive price, everybody sees the look, the brand, Pigneto not. Pigneto is like... tranquilo. More quiet. – Marco & Andrea

Pigneto is less fabricated, friendlier, more authentic due to its population. People do not focus on brands and such superficial things, they are 'cool' and relaxed. Well, since I am from south Italy, Pigneto is like home to me. It's like a village in south Italy, you know? [Q: In what ways?] First, because of how it looks, the typology of the houses, they are small and older. Everything is also very close, if I want to see my friends I tell them 'Hey, come over' and they walk here, I don't have to go anywhere to meet them. My children go to school here and then my neighbours, who also have children, can pick them up, everybody knows everybody and we help each other. – Respondent 14

This short survey respondent adds the perspective of a parent. For him, the rurality is not only an aesthetic or atmospheric factor, but also one of community and convenience. It makes sense that new residents, who are a bit older – this informant was in his forties – and have the responsibility for a family, have different priorities than young creatives. Still, there seems to be a common appreciation for the rural character of Pigneto. Q: So if you say Pigneto is authentic, why? M: Because it's very historical. More generations of Roman people live here for lots of years. If you see them, you can visit their Romanità. Romanità is... G: Roman lifestyle. M: Roman character, OK. A: You can live with Roman character in Pigneto. [Q: More than in Monti?] It's different, it's a different lifestyle. In Pigneto the people live in the street. M: It's most popular47. Most...

46 It is important to consider that the word for both 'country' and 'village' is paese in Italian. The English terms have been used interchangeably in some of the interviews; taking into account the context of the statements, it is reasonable to assume that the respondents meant 'village' or 'countryside' rather than 'country' in the sense of a nation state. 47 The word 'popular' is often used in the interviews. In Italian, popolare means as well 'folksy' or 'folkloric' and should therefore in this context be considered in this sense.

27 A: Folk! Folkloristic. M: Monti is more expensive, more progressive. Q: So you think the Romanità makes Pigneto a good place to live? All: Yeah. – Marco, Andrea, Giacomo

This conversation segment explains this notion further. It is interesting that the respondents use the term Romanità, which as mentioned in chapter 3 was propagated by Mussolini to 'rebirth' imperial, ancient Rome. For these respondents, it clearly has another meaning: They use it in connection with a simple, folkloric Roman lifestyle on the street. Especially in comparison with an area like Monti, a nowadays expensive central neighbourhood with posh boutiques and restaurants, this Romanità is observable in Pigneto; it is not expensive, not progressive, it is folklore and historical. This is also apparent in its cuisine: And Roman, if you look at the restaurants at least, very original, very plain, simple things, which are most of the time the best. I mean, the coffee in the fancy bars isn't tasty, for example, you rather go to one that is not very beautiful. – Nina

Why [is the Dar Ciriola café typical]? Because it's not expensive, cause the ingredients are very good and natural, it's not McDonald's for example [laughs]. – Marco

Because in Pigneto you can find, for example, the typical traditional things, like for example the food, like the coppiette that we give you to eat. The style is preserved from the Rome of 70, 80 years ago. So, yes. I think Pigneto is a little centre where you can find the history of the nation. – Marco

These quotes show that the originality of Pigneto is also connected to certain consumption opportunities, particularly to traditional Italian cuisine. In fact, all new respondents offered me typical Roman or Italian specialities during our interviews and walk-alongs. Marco, Andrea and Giacomo bought me coppiette, a snack made of dried meat, at the Dar Ciriola café, which they described with the above quote. Afterwards, we went to have canoli in a traditional bakery. Valentino wanted to try a typical aperitivo in the Necci 1924 with me and afterwards brought me to Bar Rosi, which he thinks is one of the coolest places in Pigneto because it is long-established and the owners are old locals; this bar is also where Fiona, who did not take me on a walk-along, wanted to meet me. She ordered us aperol spritz, about which she said that it is much cheaper in this original place owned by people from Pigneto than in the new, expensive cocktail bars. Nina wanted to show me a panino shop with regional products that she thought was typical – which was interestingly again Dar Ciriola, the same place where I met Marco, Andrea and Giacomo for their lunch break and which they also described as so vintage and so typical of Romans. The new residents therefore seem to connect Pigneto's originality with certain consumption opportunities. It is telling that the respondents sometimes chose the same locations; they emphasised their simplicity, originality, inexpensiveness. The food and drinks are described as a way to consume the history of the nation. Being able to purchase natural and genuine products, which is perceived as

28 the opposite of fast food chains such as McDonald's, is considered a distinctive, attractive characteristic of Pigneto. The cinematographic history is perceived as another feature that reinforces Pigneto's originality: M: I know about the cinema, for example Pasolini... A: ...lived in Pigneto. M: ...lived in Pigneto and loved Pigneto lifestyle. For example, if you go to Necci, the zone was the first principal zone where Pasolini wrote his first movie. – Andrea & Marco

A: This is a historical place [Necci 1924], Pasolini was hanging out here and it's really old. Q: Do you know the movie Accattone? A: Yes. I'm not sure I have seen it from start to end, but yes. […] Apparently, Pasolini... you know he was gay? So, people say Pasolini picked up young guys in Pigneto. Guys who were virgins, because he liked that. – Valentino

Well, as I said before the cinema, it was something very typical. You know Via Montecuccoli? Where there are some places where some movies of the neorealism have been shot, filmed. – Fiona

That the key scene of Roma Città Aperta was filmed in Via Raimondo Montecuccoli, Pasolini was hanging out in Pigneto and loved Pigneto lifestyle seems be of historic relevance to the respondents. This constitutes the cinema as a kind of connecting link between past and present: It belongs to the neighbourhood's history, but is at the same time part of contemporary cultural interest. Necci 1924, which is known as Pasolini's favourite place, was often mentioned as an original location with a lot of history. It also seems that particularly the person of Pasolini rather than his work is often referenced. He was a famous intellectual, professed homosexual and anti-establishment leftist; the fact that such a controversial and progressive figure was fond of Pigneto might also make it more desirable for young people. The only respondent, who did not have an association with neorealism in Pigneto was Nina, who as a German expat only living in the neighbourhood since a few months is clearly less informed about Italian cinema than the native interviewees. This implies that within the Italian population of the new residents, the knowledge about neorealist films in Pigneto is widespread. I did not even have to ask these respondents about the cinematographic history: They brought it up themselves. Even if people have not seen the movies, like Valentino admits in the above quote, the cinematographic history is gladly used as a cultural reference within the narrative. Well, the market [is typical] because it represents the people from Pigneto, it doesn't represent people like me who came during the latest years, so... yeah, I think the market best represents people from the neighbourhood. Q: Who are the people from Pigneto? A: Well, people who are older, not rich, who lived here just after the second world war, who probably suffered during the second world war, from the bombing here in the neighbourhood and people that had a look on the evolution of this neighbourhood. I think they are people from Pigneto. I'm not people from Pigneto, I don't belong to here [laughs]. – Fiona

29 This is another quote that references the history of Pigneto, which here is particularly connected to locals who work or shop on the daily fruit and vegetable market in the pedestrian zone. It is interesting that Fiona, who said she does not appreciate the development of the isola pedonale, still describes one of its features as especially typical. It appears that what happens there during the day is perceived as original – older, working-class locals strolling through the long-established market with regional produce –, while the nightlife in the numerous bars with people who do not belong to Pigneto is seen as less authentic. It can be concluded that by for example going to this market and buying products there, new residents can take part in the authentic Pigneto. A: [It is authentic] Because it's basically locals you see around, it's not like the centre... I think it looks like, authentic enough. Q: So you mainly connect it with the people, when you talk about a neighbourhood, you would say authenticity depends on the kind of people who live there? A: People who live and people who hang around, not just live. – Valentino

Valentino's statement reinforces this idea: Just by hang[ing] around in Pigneto, a person can be a part of its authenticity. Pigneto, its history and its old residents become the background for a taste that appreciates original, simple products and thus is distinct from the touristic or brand-headed consumption of a city. If Pigneto would become more like the centre of Rome, it would lose this authentic attractiveness: ...if everything would be fancy? Well, then in any case it wouldn't be anymore what I liked so much about it when I came here. Don't know if you would move because of that but at least I wouldn't be so interested anymore to get to know more here. Then I maybe would be a bit disillusioned, it would be a pity. – Nina

If Pigneto becomes more expensive, the real culture of Pigneto will change. Pigneto is the Pigneto for this reason. Because it's a little country of history. It's different from the centre of the city. There is Pigneto, there is San Lorenzo, there is Centocelle, the little quarters, who are the history of the city, who are the history of Rome. – Marco

I guess [there would be] nice consequences [of restoring old buildings], like it would give the area a cleaner look, so only good consequences, I guess. I mean you can renew an old building, it's like what they do with paintings, so it's like, they renew them, what's the word... restore them, but still they somehow keep the original feeling, the original building, so they should be the same. – Valentino

Pigneto has to stay original in order to keep its appeal; the respondents do not want it to become fancy or expensive. Restoration is something that Valentino would support, since it would give the area a cleaner look, but only if the buildings keep their original feeling. Pigneto is the Pigneto because of this, it is desirable because it is full of history, because it has an old, original, rural aesthetic that is not polished or fabricated. Some respondents recognise that this originality is threatened by rich people moving there and things getting more expensive: This influence would destroy the originality, Pigneto would not be fascinating anymore, it would be a pity. Particularly comparing Pigneto to a painting, which can be restored, shows how important aesthetic aspects are for new residents: The

30 neighbourhood is seen as an attractive background for people with a particular taste. Old, original residents are rather described as part of this interesting background than a community which the residents want to belong to. Overall, for the new respondents, it is crucial that they can see and feel the originality, the historic authenticity and rurality of Pigneto. This can be through old buildings, old residents or typical, simple products and establishments. The cinematographic history of the neighbourhood is as well part of this authenticity; the fact that the area was frequented by filmmakers and cherished by the iconic Pasolini is seen as a distinctive characteristic, adding cultural relevance to Pigneto's original appeal.

5.1.1.2 Young Lifestyle There is a second important characteristic that is described in all new residents' interviews. I titled it young lifestyle, since it partly contradicts the originality of Pigneto that comes mostly with its 'old' features. This characteristic is something that new residents actively contribute to, while the originality rather serves as an authentic scenery for their activities. Still, also the young elements of Pigneto are perceived as something authentic: M: For me in two words: underground movements. The new bands like his band [Andrea's rock band], who want to express their music or artists who want to express their creativity, for this, it's... if you look at the houses, you can see the graffiti, the posters... A: It's a little Kreuzberg, in Berlin. Like Kreuzberg in Berlin. – Marco & Andrea

A: From my point of view, Pigneto is the neighbourhood that I chose, a neighbourhood that certainly is full of contradictions, but as a result for me also very fascinating and rich of hints of possibilities and if I would go back in time, I would choose it again, because it's a neighbourhood where I feel at ease. Even in the general sensation that I feel towards Rome, it remains the neighbourhood I perceive still has a human measure […]. Q: What does this human measure contain? A: It's important for me to have the possibility to go out, to meet people, go to the cinema, see a movie, even though I don't do it [laughs]. […] When I lived in other areas in which I didn't have what I have here, I felt a lack of something. I'm too tired to go out at night, but I know it's possible to do it, if I want to. – Fiona

I like the contrasts, I also like that it is so far off the centre, that it is so untidy and vivid […]. Yes, that you simply have possibilities to do something in the evening, also apart from Via del Pigneto, that part there. Especially that it is so vivid here and culturally diverse. – Nina

Since when I was 20, 21 I was basically looking for fun. Other areas would be so much more boring. And this is not boring at all. – Valentino

These descriptions show that the neighbourhood is not only attractive because it has a perceived historical originality. It is also contemporary events, nightlife opportunities and cultural diversity making Pigneto interesting. The comparison to Berlin-Kreuzberg reinforces an idea of chapter 4.4: Mentioning another gentrifying area know for multiculturalism, creativity and nightlife creates a

31 certain image and expectation. There is a certain vividness and creativity, connected to the presence of young people and artists, that lets appear Pigneto full of possibilities for the new residents. In this place [a bar called Yeah!], many people are in the evening, Andrea plays music with the vinyl from the 60s and 70s, people have a beer, a drink... The furniture is really typical, vintage and you see the graffiti on the wall. Is a good place. – Marco

Well because it [the Dar Ciriola café] is actually a bit... oh, I don't know, a bit hip so to say and I think this concept is nice, with regional products and it has something young and then you have these old fashioned restaurants […]. This here is a bit more stylish but not too much. I would count it to the a bit cooler, hipper part of Pigneto. – Nina

A: Yes, every day [Pigneto is] changing. Because the people start activities, like restaurants or new pubs, new vinyl shops. [...] In the weekend many people come here for nightlife. [...] Q: So it gets more popular? A: Yes, because every day a new activity is born. M: A lot of people who live in Pigneto come from the south of Italy for work. […] And Pigneto for everybody who wants to study graphic design and music et cetera is a good place. A: There is a network of people. Many artists live in Pigneto and also San Lorenzo. – Marco & Andrea

It appears that the authenticity connected to what I called the 'young lifestyle' depends even more on consumption patterns. New restaurants, pubs and vinyl shops are emerging because of the influence of new, creative residents, utilizing attributes such as vintage furniture and graffiti to maintain a typical aesthetic. On all three new resident walk-alongs, the respondents showed me bars and other locations like this; they are stylish, but not too much, building on the vintage appeal of Pigneto with regional products and, at the same time, adding something young, a cooler, hipper nuance. This also references a certain urban aesthetic: So like I said, in my old quarter... […] so totally different and sterile, here it is not like that at all. At least I haven't discovered corners about which I thought 'Oh god, now I'm not in Pigneto anymore, I'm back at Via Nomentana' or something. Q: How does this non-sterility show for you? A: I don't know, uhm, partly there are no real sidewalks, it's more like little alleys, obviously there is graffiti everywhere and it is a bit, I don't know, untidy. – Nina

Uh, at that time [when she decided to move to Pigneto] I lived in a very family neighbourhood and I didn't like it. Well, it was very interesting to me. You know, I like places which are not beautiful, which are... you know, I like the railway station, I know it's not something that you put on a travel guide. I like the, come si dice, the archeologia urbana, the urban archaeology. – Fiona

These statements somewhat contradict the notion of Pigneto resembling a village. Apparently, it also has some attributes that are more associated with urban places: street art, untidiness, railroads, an environment that is not very family, not beautiful. During the walk-alongs, these elements with an urban fascination were especially embodied by high-rise condominiums and graffiti-covered walls. This urban aesthetic is, however, even more attractive in combination with the rural atmosphere:

32 Well, Pigneto defines that it is a mix of village and nevertheless city and that it is not that as posh and tidy. – Nina

4: I think it's also because these neighbourhoods have street life. So the people live the street, it's made from the architecture, it's made [so] that you can live the street, like this place or other places. I think it's beautiful, because you have the trains, so the industrial parts and you have the... 5: Small houses. 4: ...small houses. – Respondent 4 & 5

These respondents – the second quote is from the short survey – especially appreciate a contrast of urban, industrial elements and rural buildings. This as well influences Pigneto's audience in the respondents' perspective, both touristic and local: Q: So do you think the graffiti attract people to come here as well? A: Yeah, I think so. Some tourists come here to take pictures. Q: What kind of tourists do you think come here? A: Well I wouldn't say the American family with small children. More young people, people who read guidebooks and look for alternative places, so... I would look for this kind of place when I travel. Not just the typical monuments and stuff. – Valentino

And I don't know what the reason is cause... I really have no idea. It just started to be full of places to hang out, pubs, aperitif bars and especially Via del Pigneto, which is a pedestrian zone, and yeah, some cultural activities, I guess […] So it was interesting, because at some point everybody started talking about 'let's go to Pigneto, let's go to Pigneto, let's have an aperitif in Pigneto'. I was like 'OK', and it was kind of new to me. – Valentino

The style, the young style... the cool style. It's here, it isn't in the centre. […] You know, maybe for the people Pigneto is a place where the pubs stay open all night long and [where] the typical young style is, so maybe for this type or concept the people try to open up a pub or work in [the creative industry] here. – Giacomo

Pigneto is becoming more and more for the radical chic. […] Uh, yeah, cool, trendy, but also engaged from a cultural point of view, engaged from a social point of view, I don't know. An example to explain, we say radical chic when we talk about people with a high cultural level, medium high economic level and very perceptive towards cultural things, new cultural things, new trends. But alternative, not just mainstream, also... A radical chic person would go to an experimental theatre show. – Fiona

Pigneto attracts cool people. This 'coolness' seems to be especially connected to youth, creative professions and an alternative consumption. Tourists coming to Pigneto similarly do not want to see the typical stuff, but something special like graffiti, something underground, alternative. It is therefore not only different from central Rome because it is authentic in the folkloric sense, but also because it has an alternative authenticity. There seems to be a dynamic at work: Pigneto started to be attractive for young people because places to hang out emerged – as Valentino stated, it is not always clear why this happened –, which led to it becoming even more attractive for new nightlife and cultural establishments, which might lead do it becoming again more attractive for people, who are eager to experience new cultural things. The amount of radical chic people in the population increases and the

33 social as well as economic landscape of Pigneto is changing. In the opinion of some residents, Pigneto will keep this young lifestyle appeal in the future: I don't think it can be another Trastevere, this area cannot be, it's different. […] Trastevere is the perfect place for tourists. Here you still have some tourists, but it's a different kind of tourist who wants to see the alternative, the... and we're talking about a certain age. As I said, it's not really, families wouldn't be interested in coming here. – Valentino

It looks like it's gong to be this alternative area for quite a long time, I guess. [Q: You think?] Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, it's getting more and more popular thanks to guides and more people talking about it. Like for example you [laughs]. – Valentino

How it develops... I can imagine that even more students and such will come, because it is so close to San Lorenzo, but other than that. I haven't thought about that yet. – Nina

Even though they recognise it is becoming more famous, they do not think it will change essentially. For them, students and young 'alternative' people are going to stay the main audience of Pigneto. They thus do not perceive this alternative authenticity as threatened by the increasing popularity of the neighbourhood. Some respondents additionally have ideas how to make the neighbourhood even more attractive for younger people and creative workers: I think the government could spend a lot of money for the little commercial activities. For example it could be investment money for local offices and handmade products and for parks. – Marco

There are lot of pubs, a lot of good music, good restaurants and for me it's OK. Just a little thing for improving the quarter […] For example the different... paper on paper, plastic on plastic... [Q: Recycling?] Yes. This is a good thing for me. And a lot of people don't try this. And I do. – Marco

A: […] And when we talk to other people, they think Pigneto is only dirty and nothing for living, we try to say that there is a lot of spaces to work, a lot of offices. Q: So you try to improve the reputation? A: Yeah. – Giacomo

There has been a big improvement, but it's still not so well managed I suppose. [Q: How could it get better?] A few services for children, for example. Me and some friends asked the city to manage a park at the back of my house here and they gave us the authorization to improve the park. [...] So without the work of people, the area is not so well managed. – Respondent 14

These respondents thus still perceive Pigneto as a place with a bad reputation that could use more attention form the government, environmental consciousness and economic input. The statements of Marco and short survey respondent 14 are also congruent with the notion that gentrifiers desire environmentally friendly surroundings with green areas for leisure. Investments and offices are not seen as dangers to Pigneto's authenticity, but on the contrary could further enhance its appeal. These respondents actually see themselves as a positive force within Pigneto's transformation: They advertise its economic possibilities and improve its environment. Some respondents of the short survey, however, perceive that Pigneto is losing its atmosphere: Some years ago there was not so much police, there was more freedom. People were in the street all the night, until four or five, making music and making joints [laughs]. Now you can see, after

34 two, maybe three you cannot stay here, the police will make you go. But then now there are these benches and the ground is better, it was worse before, so not everything is bad. But I miss the freedom with all this police. – Respondent 5

10: And maybe in two years or three or five years, another area will be the core of nightlife. Like maybe Centocelle […]. 11: I think Pigneto is losing its atmosphere now. 10: Because it's about phases. […] It's like primal substances, when you finish them you have to rethink and relocate in another area. Q: So in a few years you will go to Centocelle once a week? [laughs] 10: We are going already now, because it's improving, it's growing, so it's interesting to spot the changes. – Respondent 10 & 11

Pigneto is still an attractive area with characteristic features for these respondents, but they feel that something is disappearing. Particularly the second statement is interesting; these respondents told me before that they visit Pigneto once a week to go out, because there they can breathe the real Roman atmosphere with a vintage lifestyle and architecture and the real essence of people. Yet, they now think this atmosphere is about to be lost and already try to find another authentic core of nightlife. That areas are supposed to have a primal substance, which can be finished, sounds like a neighbourhood can be consumed like a product; after all the authenticity is used up, one migrates to the next authentic place. One respondent, who already moved to Pigneto in 1999 and thus can be considered a member of the first wave of new residents, is much more negative about today's Pigneto: In this period of my life, it's quite boring for me. Probably I want to change the city where I'm living. I'm an old inhabitant, so I'm not so fascinated by this Pigneto gentrification, I must say. But the good thing is […] all of my friends live here, so it's like a big... it's like a village. [...] I must say, it's not only a problem of gentrification, I think this place is overrated. It's not so cultural and interesting like people say it is, it's not the Brooklyn of Roma, not the Italian Brooklyn. – Respondent 8

It makes sense that for some members of the first gentrification wave, the ongoing transformation has lost its appeal. This respondent already considers himself an old inhabitant and wants to leave Pigneto, since it is an overrated place. It does not meet the requirements for a true cultural and interesting area such as Brooklyn; here, another gentrified area is again used as a reference, but in this case to emphasise Pigneto's inferiority. The respondent still perceives Pigneto as a village, so it might have rural authenticity for him, but is clearly not attractive in a way that is culturally authentic. Fiona was the only in-depth respondent who spoke the language of gentrification: Now the gentrification is in our eyes. Five, ten.. yeah, ten years ago it was not the Pigneto we can see today, it became in a very short time a neighbourhood for artists, for young people, students and everybody that likes social life and cultural life and yeah. [...] The prices of the apartments, also the restorations of a lot of buildings, the fact that a lot of clubs opened during the last years, the fact that a lot of people moved from other neighbourhoods to this neighbourhood and the fact that people who moved [here] have some features. Well, people dealing with art, with social issues in different ways, a lot of clubs of photography appeared recently, so those are all signs of gentrification from my point of view. – Fiona

35 Unlike the other informants, she recognises that the influx of younger, artistic people went along with different, significant changes, such as increasing apartment prices and restorations. She is the only new respondent who implies that the new, alternative authenticity could be threatening the original authenticity: Q: Would you say Pigneto is an authentic neighbourhood? A: It is a neighbourhood that is changing. It has some aspects of authenticity, some aspects that refer to the new people who came here, including myself. I'm not authentic, not made in Pigneto. Made in Lecce [laughs]. Q So you think the new people take away some of the authenticity? A: Well, they are changing it. – Fiona

For her, Pigneto's original authenticity strongly depends on the presence of the old population. The influx of new residents, including her, is changing this notion. This perspective is important, because it suggests that Fiona in the sense of Brown-Saracino is more of a social preservationist, who sees herself as a threat to the area's original appeal, while other new respondents fall more into the category of traditional gentrifiers, who want to further adjust Pigneto to their own preferences; they are not perceiving the two analysed forms of authenticity as contradicting, but as complementary.

5.1.1.3 Problems An interesting finding is that generally the new residents do not connect problems they perceive in Pigneto with its transformation. They are either seen as isolated phenomena, a result of other factors or sometimes even as a necessary feature of an underground, urban area such as Pigneto: M: Pigneto for me has two faces, OK? A face that is very very interesting for creativity and music, underground movement and a face, um, so bad, because there are many problems, like immigrants, more immigrants are in the centre of Pigneto, and more homes that are not very beautiful, because of the economic problems of Italy from seven years to now are very important. These problems, you can see this problem in the street. For me, it has two faces for this. A: Yes, it's dirty. But it's an underground place, so it's dirty, but it's cool, and for me it's not a problem. – Marco & Andrea

M: But there is the problem of heroin. I'm not racist. The problem is with the mafia. They use this street [the pedestrian zone] for the sale of marihuana, cocaine, heroin... For example, a family with little children who wants to walk through the street of Pigneto in the evening found this very... A: This is not true for all the people who live in Pigneto. If you live in Pigneto it's normal, this situation. […] All big cities have this situation. – Marco & Andrea

I lived in Frankfurt [am Main] for years and there you don't hang out at the main station with the junkies during the night alone. It doesn't bother me so much, but one German who works with me used to live here and found it terrible. She told me that she didn't dare to go on the street alone in the evening and was always scared. […] So, but I feel safe most of the time, but also you're not stupid and walk around all carelessly, you stay attentive. – Nina

And also in the walking area, where cars cannot pass, there is a problem with drugs. […] They are trying to solve this problem but it's still present. And this is a big problem, because I have little children, so it's very dangerous. – Respondent 14

36 For Andrea, the perceived problems of Pigneto thus are also part of its alternative authenticity: It's an underground place, so it's dirty, but it's cool. Drug commerce for him is normal in a big city, which further reinforces that Pigneto is only partly seen as rural. Nina's statement also suggests that it is seen as a sign of 'street smarts' to enjoy an area with potential criminality. It can be interpreted that dealing with these issues is an inevitable side effect of living in a gritty, authentic area. The short survey respondent additionally thinks the situation is actually improving, even though still being present. Furthermore, particularly the drug problem is more seen as a result of immigration politics in Italy than of an influx of potential costumers in the form of young party-goers. However, when asked directly, respondents can see a connection: A: Well, the presence of immigrants is very heavy, which doesn't mean nothing wrong in itself, but for example if you see those guys from Africa in Via del Pigneto, they end up selling drugs. They come here, they don't know what to do, like, they can't find a normal job, so they end up being dealers […]. Q: When the area became more popular, you think that also brought the dealers or were they there before as well? A: I never thought about that, but that's not a stupid interpretation, 'cause it makes sense. Where the young people are, they come and try to sell drugs. In San Lorenzo it's the same. They know they can find many costumers every night. – Valentino

While the drug commerce was first mainly associated with immigration, after the interviewer's remark a potential connection to recent developments is established. The fact that this causal chain is not considered from the start might be due to the fact that these residents only know Pigneto since a few years. They mostly have no precise concept of the area before the gentrification process started. Thus, they perceive the drug dealing as something belonging to Pigneto, while its extent might in fact be a more recent phenomenon; I don't see a bad change. The problem is the same, immigration, dirt... These problems don't change. – Marco

The statement of the short survey respondent sounds as if the situation has actually been improving instead of worsening. This finding is relevant because as will be explored in the next chapter, the perspective of many old residents about Pigneto's problems is fundamentally different.

5.1.2 Old Residents To compare the narratives of the new residents, also the views of old residents were included in the data collection and analysis. If it is true that gentrifiers desire certain characteristics such as a perceived authenticity, it is to be expected that old residents as 'non-gentrifiers' have different perceptions and preferences, for example when it comes to aesthetic or consumption. The aim of interviewing old residents was thus to find out if they perceive Pigneto differently in comparison to the new residents and how they assess the neighbourhood and its development.

37 Three old residents were interviewed in-depth. These respondents were: Bella, 28, a hotel receptionist who grew up in Pigneto and whose mother and grandmother used to work on the pedestrian zone market. She moved to San Giovanni, a close by neighbourhood, around 1998 and still frequents Pigneto often; Chiara, 75, a retired waitress who spent her whole life in Pigneto; and Ugo, 60, who has worked in a toy shop in Via del Pigneto since around 25 years and owns it since ten years. Additionally, I joined Bella and Chiara on walk-alongs. Also, 14 old residents have been interviewed for the short survey.

5.1.2.1 Change By far the most common pattern within the old residents' narratives was the change of the neighbourhood: The real Pigneto doesn't exist anymore. Now exist only pushers. – Bella

Q: How was Pigneto before? A: Good. A big family. Now there are too many immigrants. When I was a child, when a neighbour went to the seaside she called my mother and asked if I could go with her. And she took all the children of the neighbourhood with her. Do you know what kind of news you would read? You would read 'She has been hit by a bicycle'! Because people didn't even have cars. – Chiara

Q: For what reasons [do you think it has become worse]? A: For some problems, there were also problems before, but not as apparent as now, for example drug dealing and now it's become a quarter of people going out in the night […]. – Ugo

It is evident that this change is perceived overwhelmingly negative. It concerns different dimensions: social factors such as the drug dealing problem and changes in the population, the infrastructure in the form of more traffic and economic changes in the concentration of day versus night businesses. The old residents particularly miss a sense of community: In Pigneto there are very sociable and helpful people. At least the people that I know since many years. Because this is like a village, like a small village. That was before. Before, there were big families and everyone knew one another. Now it's impossible to walk in the street, because it's dangerous, because of the cars but mostly because you don't know anybody anymore. Before, you could leave the doors open, if you needed bread for example you could ask your neighbours, now it's impossible to do that. – Chiara

A: Yes, when I was younger, for me this was a paradise. Because there was so much family with many children and when I was maybe six years old, I stayed here alone in front of the market of my grandmother. And now if I have a six year old child, it's impossible. But at that time, it was very, very simple. Life was simple. People collaborated and now there is too much discrimination. A lot. This is a very, very sad truth. – Bella

Everybody used to know everybody. It was a big family. The new people don't even greet on the street. – Respondent 31

For these respondents, there is a clear distinction between before and now. Pigneto used to be full of families, community and solidarity, people knew and helped each other. It used to be like a village, but

38 has transformed into something dangerous and unattractive. While Chiara mostly referenced the 1950s and 60s, when she was a young woman, and did not give a time frame for changes, Bella estimated the starting point of the transformation to be 2001 and 2002; this would be in line with the approximate start of the gentrification process. Immigration is seen as one of the main reasons for the loss of community: It's difficult, I don't want to make a generalisation, but many foreigners are diffident. Especially women, not the men, but the women, when they get close to you they are afraid, they don't want to chat. [...], for example an Indian woman a few days ago was wearing a golden dress and I told her 'How beautiful!' and she answered 'I don't understand'. I asked 'How much did you pay?' and she said 'I don't understand'. When they don't want to talk, they say they don't speak Italian. – Chiara

Because you know, you can see now, there isn't an Italian boy now. Eritrea, Somalia [...] Unfortunately this situation is very difficult for me. Socializing with these persons, cause I know that too many persons die with their heroin. – Bella

When I was a young boy, there were only good people living here. Now it's a mess with many immigrants who steal your bag. – Respondent 29

The immigrants are mostly seen as a threat for the neighbourhood, because they are allegedly dealing drugs or do not integrate. This was also a big topic during the walk-alongs: Bella was determined to show me the 'bad' side of Pigneto, because in her view it best represents its transformation. On a Saturday afternoon, she led me to Piazza del Pigneto, a small green space across Via l'Aquila, where many immigrated men, that she introduced to me as drug dealers, and addicts were located. She also particularly pointed out dirt and syringes on the ground. While walking with Chiara and her dog through the pedestrian zone, she emphasised the presence of many immigrants and warned me to be cautious. Another negative influence, which is somewhat connected to the drug dealing, is the nightlife: I cannot explain this, because it is very difficult, because there is only drugs, only police, only people that drink every day and every night and broken wine bottles, beer bottles and the people can't sleep. – Bella

But the thing that I lament most is that is has become a quarter of just nightlife, of restaurants. And the nuisance of all these people going around in the evening. – Ugo

This negative transformation leads to locals selling their houses and moving away: No old inhabitants of the neighbourhood live here anymore. Families went away, because the nightlife ruined it very much. It used to be very lovely, quiet, very characteristic, picturesque. There were many artisans, small shops […]. With the opening of all the bars and the nightlife, the black dealers came with drugs and alcohol and no respect for the rules. [...] It is very liked for spending the evening, but not for living, because you are not protected. – Respondent 23

And the price for homes is not expensive, because too many people that moved away from Pigneto sold their home for not much money. Because we have to move very quickly and are not interested in money, it's very impossible to live here now. – Bella

[My grandmother] left, because she didn't want to stay in this situation, it's very dangerous for

39 her at 80 years old, because the people steal your bag, because of the addiction, to buy a dose of drugs, take everything and... she was so scared and left. – Bella

Interestingly, in the view of some old residents, Pigneto is not only an unsuitable location for older people, but even for young students. They only live there because it is close to university and leave again as soon as possible: Only old, only alcohol addicts, only immigrated. […] No young people, no students, because students live here, but don't go here, only live here. [Q: So where do they go?] San Lorenzo, Trastevere... yes. Because the students... they live here maximum one year. – Bella

But many young people don't want to stay here. My daughter who graduated, she couldn't wait to go somewhere else, she wanted to go to the centre of Rome. – Chiara

These views clearly contradict the perception of the new residents, who see it as a very attractive place for young people. Particularly Bella's opinion of present Pigneto was overwhelmingly bleak throughout our meeting. Even with young people enjoying Pigneto all around us in the pedestrian zone, she only perceived negative elements. Apart from her, only a few older people in the short survey were as pessimistic. With 28 years she is in the age of many residents who enjoy Pigneto, but there seems to be no communication between her and these people. Pigneto for her is mainly associated with childhood memories, which seem to have no place in the transformed neighbourhood; the alternative nightlife opportunities are not interesting to her. Her perspective is a valuable addition, because it demonstrates how diverging perceptions of a neighbourhood can be. For her, Pigneto could as well not become a touristic zone like Trastevere: No. No, it's impossible, because Trastevere is a very old place. In Trastevere there is a lot of history of art. In Pigneto there isn't art, you can see modern art in murals or street art, but only this. […] In Trastevere there are a lot of churches, a lot of two centuries old buildings, two or three. Here there aren't. There is nothing, nothing. There isn't history of art or something like that, there isn't tourism [Q: Do you never see tourists?] In the summer many tourists come here. Many tourists come here for asking us 'OK, I'm sorry, where can I buy weed?' or 'Where can I buy coke? Where can I buy heroin?', you know. – Bella

This implies that old and new residents generally agree on one thing: Pigneto cannot become like Trastevere. The reasons for this, however, are completely different. In the new respondents' opinion it is because Pigneto's special beauty is not easily accessible for a 'normal' tourist; for Bella, it is because Pigneto is just not beautiful and worth seeing like Trastevere. It is interesting that something making Pigneto particularly special and fascinating for the new residents – a lack of typical tourist attractions and the presence of street art – is making it entirely unappealing for tourism in the view of an old resident. Instead, the drug commerce and therefore the most negative change in Pigneto is seen as the only potential reason for tourism. On top of the social change, the transformation is also accompanied by aesthetic elements the old respondents disapprove of:

40 The buildings, in the street you can see the tangenziale [the highway], it wasn't here when I was younger, there was a lot of trees, a lot of green and now it's only gray. [...] It's very ugly for me and sad. – Bella

The bad things... Dirty street! Dirty street! Can you record this? This animal is very sick [a pigeon]. And the building is very ugly. This is a hotel, five stars hotel. For you? For you it's a five stars hotel? [...] It's very ugly. – Bella

I remember that when I came here before, there was a sidewalk, there were more trees, then I also find this metro aesthetically horrible. – Ugo

There is again a clear distinction between the past and the present; while Pigneto used to be green and beautiful, modern constructions such as the highway or the metro station are perceived as a disfigurement and contributions to the area's deterioration. The residents paint the picture of a grey, inhospitable environment with sick animals, pollution and without any green areas. The economic transformation of Pigneto is also lamented: And shops like a fish shop, a dry cleaning shop, they are disappearing. People go to malls now, so there is not so much business anymore for us. – Ugo

A: The normal shops are not here anymore, only clubs, bars... It's a quarter that is lived almost exclusively in the evening. For example, there is no more haberdashery, I hear all the others complain that there is no more day life. – Ugo

It's commercial politics without regulations. There has been an increase of the commercial value of the neighbourhood. Bars, bars, bars, bars... but without politics that preserve historic elements like artisan shops, which unfortunately had to close in the last years. – Respondent 20

A development that the new residents perceive mostly positive – an emergence of bars, restaurants and cultural locations – is something that threatens long-established small businesses such as Ugo's. The short survey respondent implies politics have an interest in raising Pigneto's commercial value and historic elements are not taken into consideration during this development. Establishments like a dry cleaning shop or a haberdashery are nothing a younger, creative student population typically needs. Overall, there seems to be a certain resignation as well: Q: How do you think it will change in the future? A: I hope it will be better, but I don't know. This depends on politicians. It's not that we can do a lot about it. – Ugo

A: I'm talking about the 50s and 60s. It was beautiful then. In the bars people danced, there were singers and all people in the evening went out in the street. It was like a village. Q: And now it's not anymore? A: Now we feel like strangers. It's not beautiful anymore like this. But what can you do about it? If you live here, you have to accept it. – Chiara

While many new residents see themselves as a positive force that promotes and improves the neighbourhood, old residents perceive themselves to be defenceless against the transformation. However, for Ugo's shop, Pigneto's cultural scene is a bright spot:

41 A: There are many different theatre initiatives, because they come to me with the weirdest requests for fancy clothing for the stage, for example wigs. But I don't know where they are, in which places they are doing these theatre activities. But I think theatre is alive here. Q: So there are still things that you like about Pigneto? A: Yes, certainly. Not everything is to throw away. – Ugo

This implies that some of the old-established businesses have a chance at adjusting to the new population and its preferences. Ugo is not a part of this cultural side of Pigneto, he does not even know, where exactly it is located, but he still perceives it as something positive within an overall negative transformation. One particularly interesting short survey interview was with two young brothers, who were born in Pigneto, are working in their father's record store and have quite a radical chic look themselves. These respondents are thus by definition old residents, but at the same time understand the taste and aesthetic of many new residents; this might have led to them having a deeper kind of insight into what makes Pigneto attractive for gentrifiers. They both still enjoy the neighbourhood, but have some specific thoughts about its transformation: A lot of liberals moved here when it started booming. And also a lot of people from the north of Rome, who are richer. I think they go here to watch poor people, a more old place and a typical place. That's what this became. So, I can't really see what is a product and what is reality, you can't really tell. [Q: So what for example is real?] For example, our pubs and shops are really real [laughs]. 'Cause my dad owned another shop of records, he had to close it, when buying CDs went down in 2004. […] We have reopened also because Pigneto became Pigneto and we've got a lot of [people buying records]. So, I think for us it's real, 'cause we are real, we're like this and we do what we like. For other people I don't know. For example Necci, these big places […], it's a lot of money, we don't know where it comes from. – Respondent 22

This respondent perceives that richer newcomers want to watch a typical place and because of this it becomes harder to distinguish the real from the fabricated. He implies that in order to cater to the taste of these new residents, the aesthetic of a poor, old place is imitated. It is remarkable that he names Necci 1924 as an example for a suspected product, since for many people it seems to be a symbol for the authentic Pigneto. On the other hand, pubs and shops owned by true locals like his family are really real. It is as well interesting that his father's first record store had to close, but due to the consumption preferences of the new generation of residents, small businesses such as vinyl shops are flourishing. Asked about the cinematographic history of Pigneto, the brothers had their own theory on how it contributes to the neighbourhood's change: 21: I don't like Pasolini as a moviemaker, it's fucking boring. […] Yeah, he's one of the biggest neorealistic blablablablabla. It's not for me, but I really appreciate what he did. And thanks to him now this place is becoming the centre of the city, I think. This kind of fashion stuff, 'There is the neighbourhood of Pasolini, let's get a drink there!', it's kind of that. [Q: So you think it is making it more attractive?] Yeah, the history is working for the place. 22: They are exploiting his figure, his image to make money. 21: Yeah they are exploiting. [Q: But you think it's good?] Depends on the people. I mean if you really like Pasolini it's fine if you come here and you see the Accattone house or you see the Necci. But many people do it for kind of, they want to act like they're interested, but they're not. And that's almost all of them. – Respondent 21 & 22

42 While most new residents talk about Pasolini with a certain admiration, this old respondent only appreciates him because he made the area more fashionable. When asking the respondents of the survey about the cinema in Pigneto, almost all of them – both old and new – had something to say about neorealist films, particularly in connection to Pasolini and Rosselini. While Pasolini's legacy is a bonus point for younger, culturally interested people, some older residents do not appreciate him: Pasolini frequented Pigneto. He came here to search for young boys, because he was a homosexual. And he found actors for his films on the street. – Respondent 23

Also due to more often bringing this topic up by themselves, it is clearly more the new residents that see this kind of cultural history as something that influences Pigneto's appeal in a positive way. New residents told me more often which films they had already watched, which ones were their favourite or which of Pasolini's books they had read; this kind of cultural interest seems to be something they are proud of. They also often seem to join cinema associations and clubs without a mainstream program. In the opinion of respondent 21 and 22, the history is in this case thus working for the place by making it more attractive to people who want to act like they are interested. Figures like Pasolini get exploited to make money. It is unclear if the exploiters are new residents, new business owners or politicians, but in any case some old residents have a notion of them commercialising and making profit from Pigneto, even though they are not real. This theory also reinforces my claim that it is even more Pasolini's iconic status and controversial image than only his work that is associated with Pigneto: Pigneto is the neighbourhood of Pasolini.

5.2.1.2 Originality Despite all negative points, there are a few features the interviewed old residents still perceive as remnants of the original Pigneto. These things are particularly still present in the eastern part of the neighbourhood, which is separated from the pedestrian zone with a bridge above the train tracks: Actually, here it is quiet enough. The problem is after the little bridge in the pedestrian zone. There there are more people complaining about these problems. – Ugo

In Pigneto for authenticity... maybe the last part of Pigneto, but you don't see this part. After the bridge, where you see the new subway. There is a lot of buildings that are a kind of buildings... they are very authentic buildings of Pigneto. [How do they look?] Very small buildings with maximum three floors. With an attic and a lot of plants, a lot of flowers like in Holland [laughs]. Not [tulips], but many flowers and the people try to defend this architecture. – Bella

Thus, both old and new residents agree on the pedestrian zone being different: It is less quiet, has less green spaces and the economy is too focused on a somewhat uniform nightlife. The rest of Pigneto tries to defend the original part against this development. There is as well a remaining sense of community: There is communication with people and with public transport. You meet a policeman, you can talk you them, you can laugh with them, if you see someone who eats something they offer to you or you can offer to them.

43 Q: So the neighbourhood has maintained it soul? A: Yes, it has maintained it a bit, but it has. – Chiara

This quote shows that the 'soul' of the neighbourhood is not completely gone in the perception of some old residents. There are still people communicating with each other and share things, even though less than in past times. Maybe in these last two years, maybe some come for the clubs, because in the summer there are very fun things in Pigneto, like the cocktails are not expensive, and because it's a popular zone. Maybe for this a lot of tourists come here. – Bella

Similarly, this statement implies that Pigneto has still partly remained a popular in the sense of folkloric or working-class area. The fact that the drinks are cheap and there are fun things is also seen as a reason why tourists would visit it after all. Also certain parts of Pigneto's gastronomic landscape are considered attractive and original: If you look there, do you see the restaurant ['Rosti al Pigneto', a family restaurant]? It is open until three or four in the morning. That's beautiful, you can sit there with children, bicycles, also in the winter, because they put heaters outside. – Chiara

There is a lot of restaurants, the old osterie. Osteria is a typical name, the typical Roman name for a real restaurant with the features... the old mentality. For example, you come in the restaurant in Pigneto and when you enter in the restaurant, the person that you see immediately gives you a bottle of wine for free and they cook spaghetti at 3€, but very good spaghetti. Carbonara, amatriciana, very very typical cuisine, Italian cuisine, Roman cuisine. The recipes are original recipes from [...]1920, yes. – Bella

The presence of families and being able to sit outside seems to remind Chiara of the times when Pigneto was still more like a village in her perception and families knew each other. That the cuisine of Pigneto is seen as typical and original by Bella is congruent with what new residents think: The food is particularly good when it is served by a local with an old mentality and is simple, inexpensive and effortless. Thus, while the old respondents' overall perception of today's Pigneto is quite negative, there are still a few things they connect with its past and therefore see in a more positive light.

5.3 Socio-demographic Factors The socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents are of importance to estimate for example if they are in line with the concept of a gentrifier. Since the interviews of the short survey were often only short encounters on the street, their backgrounds cannot be examined in the same way as the ones of in-depth interview partners. Still, some of the data survey are also suitable for this part of the analysis. Out of all48 interviewed new respondents, 12 are in their twenties, six in their thirties and four in their forties. For the older population49, four are in their twenties, five respondents in their fifties, four in their sixties, three in their seventies and one in his eighties. Since the survey respondents were

48 Both in-depth and shot survey interviews = 22 respondents. For the quantitative short survey analysis, see appendix xiii. 49 Both in-depth and short survey interviews = 17 respondents.

44 approached without knowing when they moved to Pigneto or started frequenting it, they had not been categorised into old and new before the interview. On average, the old respondents still turned out to be of a significantly higher age than the new ones.50 Additionally, out of 13 new residents overall living in Pigneto, seven have been living there for under three years, four for up to ten years and two for longer than ten years. From the 13 old residents who live in Pigneto, nine were born there and four have been living there for over 25 years. This reinforces the assumption that it is rather young people who have been moving to Pigneto in the last years and furthermore implies that new residents tend to be more residentially mobile. Looking at the in-depth interviews, this is confirmed: While all three old respondents were born in Rome – of which Bella and Chiara in Pigneto –, out of six new respondents only Valentino was born in the city. However, he had told me about his several month-long stays abroad and was about to move to Berlin. The other new respondents had all moved to Rome for either studying or working. All of them are university-educated, while this is not the case for any of the old residents. Also, their professions – three designers, a journalist, a PhD candidate, an NGO employee – definitely would fall into Richard Florida's category of a creative class, while the old residents as a former waitress, a receptionist and a shop owner would probably not be included. It is important to note that the new residents are not wealthy people. The four respondents who live in Pigneto are all renting apartments, often shared. Nina for example pays 450€ for a room and emphasised that Pigneto is more affordable compared to the centre of Rome. As Bourdieu would argue, new residents are making a virtue of economic necessity by living in a 'poor' neighbourhood. Still, it is reasonable to assume that with their academic background they are more capable of paying increasing rents than old residents with lower-paid service or retail jobs. Furthermore, they are able to rent a room or apartment in a neighbourhood they perceive as desirable and often implied that they would leave Pigneto, if it would lose its appeal. I had the opportunity to meet two of the new respondents more often outside of research conditions, which confirmed that they do not mind spending money in cocktail bars or for a theatre show. This overall suggests they are able to afford an attractive lifestyle. This short socio-demographic analysis implies that new Pigneto residents tend to be younger than old-timer populations, more residentially mobile, higher educated, employed in creative and/or academic areas and relatively wealthier, even though they are far from rich. This is in line with consumption-based gentrification explanations, which argue that it is people with this kind of backgrounds and lifestyle preferences that facilitate the economic change of gentrifying

50 It can be also worth mentioning that out of the 16 new short survey respondents, eight were only visiting Pigneto, who were all in their twenties and thirties, Only two of the 14 old respondents were visiting – a man in his fifties, who frequents Pigneto since he was approximately 15 years old and a woman in her seventies, who used to work on the vegetable market in the pedestrian zone, which is why they were counted as old –; this implies that mainly a younger population frequents Pigneto in their leisure time.

45 neighbourhoods. The interviewed old residents, on the contrary, tend to stem from a lower middle- class background with service and retail professions; Florida-inspired policies would most likely not focus on their preferences to increase the value of urban space.

46 6. Discussion

Sharon Zukin claims that gentrifiers want both primal and creative elements in a neighbourhood they consider authentic. Considering the findings of the empirical analysis, Pigneto fits into this concept: New residents appreciate an original architecture, typical cuisine and the presence of old-timer populations as an authentic background for their activities. By consuming the area's originality, for instance by shopping on the local vegetable market or eating in long-established, simple restaurants, new residents feel like they can take part in a piece of Roman history. At the same time, they also desire contemporary, creative consumption and nightlife opportunities; as described before, the influx of the first new residents around the millennium change led to the emergence of bars, restaurants, theatres and shops with trendy products such as vinyl records. This has changed the economic landscape decidedly: Old residents lament that on behalf of nightlife locations, long-established businesses have been disappearing. It can be assumed that many of them were adjusted to the needs of the original inhabitants and thus increasingly lost clientele when new residents settled down. For the interviewed new respondents, the neighbourhood's vivid nightlife, creative shops and offices are mainly seen as a proof of its artistic, young dynamic. They like to compare Pigneto to places like Kreuzberg or Brooklyn, creating a certain expectation of an exciting, creative, gritty neighbourhood and classifying it as the Roman version of these gentrified areas. However, Pigneto adds a new dimension to Zukin's notion of what is considered authentic. While the old residents mainly say Pigneto used to be a small village, it is still a certain perceived rustic rurality that new residents find attractive. This difference to the appeal of other big cities such as London or New York with their former working-class inner cities and vacant factory buildings might be due to the history of Rome: Since it was never a highly industrialised city and its centre was cleared from lower-class inhabitants especially during Mussolini's regime, there were no downtown neighbourhoods with an industrial, urban aesthetic to gentrify. This aesthetic might have been substituted by the rural appearance of the subproletarian periphery. The rural dimension of Pigneto's authenticity could thus so to say be a Roman variety of urban authenticity. Additionally, Pigneto's built environment falls both into the described rural and into an urban side. It seems it is also the resulting streetscape full of contrasts between the perceived rurality and an urban aesthetic with graffiti, high-rise condominiums and train tracks, which the new residents find fascinating. In their opinion, the taste of a visitor must be a bit more advanced than the one of a 'normal' tourist or a 'brand-headed' person in order to recognise the rough, simple beauty of Pigneto. This fits to Pierre Bourdieu's notion of the aesthetic of the common: It is considered a sign of a distinctive taste to be able to find the pure aesthetic of something ordinary instead of in a pompous monument such as the Colosseum. Even though it is arguably more commonly the image of central

47 Rome dolce vita that is associated with the city, for new residents Pigneto much more embodies true Romanità, the true, simple 'Roman character'. Thus, while Zukin's concept focuses on the authenticity of a post-industrial working-class environment, Pigneto shifts this focus to a binary of city and village. This combination produces interesting characteristics that result in their own kind of authenticity. As a local variety, this implies that concepts of gentrification-facilitating authenticity do not work the same way in every city. Yet, it still seems that living in an authentic environment is important for many younger, creative people in Rome. The interviewed new residents commonly matched the aesthetic and consumption patterns of a lifestyle that Italians would call radical chic; a radical chic person likes to come off as cultured and creative with an awareness for social and political happenings. As demonstrated, their socio- demographic characteristics are mostly congruent with what could be called artistic producers or more broadly the creative class. It is likely that their taste for authenticity is also contributing to the social and economic changes within Pigneto. Some of the residents are aware of this: While a common perspective was consistent with Brown-Saracino's notion of a gentrifier – a person who wants the neighbourhood to adjust to their needs while mainly preserving its aesthetic originality –, another important one was more in line with the character of a social preservationist – someone who speaks the language of gentrification and who recognises that the original communities of the area are endangered by transformation processes. Within my sample, gentrifiers are more focused on Pigneto's future, desiring more control, green spaces and economic development, while preservationists tend to assess today's Pigneto a bit more negatively due to the consequences of gentrification. Yet, they overall appreciate very similar things about the neighbourhood. Also, while the commonly older, less educated old residents in most cases have similar points of criticism when they compare Pigneto to its past, there are some who do not perceive it as all negative. It thus appears that perceptions of old and new respondents are not a binary opposite; rather, they are a continuum, on which new ones tend to be on the positive and old ones on the more negative side. It is obvious that they are still essentially different from each other. New and old residents have diverging concepts of modern Pigneto as well as different needs and preferences regarding their neighbourhood. To give an extreme example of diverging views: And this place is so, so sad, it's just alcoholics and only drugs. No life and this dynamic is very... no change, no moving forward, there is always... Sad. – Bella

Yes, every day changing. Because the people start activities, like restaurants or new pubs, new vinyl shops. Every day a new activity is born. – Andrea

Old residents particularly lament a loss of community and familiarity, caused by immigration and nightlife. For them, the more urban features of Pigneto are a sign of deterioration that have destroyed its rural charm. They do not care for the aesthetic of contrasting train tracks and rural buildings; in their opinion, the true, original, authentic Pigneto with artisan shops, families and tranquillity is in the

48 past. It was a characteristic neighbourhood before, but has lost this authenticity to commercialised nightlife and people who have no respect. Problems such as drug commerce, noise and pollution are thus also much more blamed on the nightlife activities than in the perspective of new residents. At the same time, they seem to perceive the transformation as unstoppable; while few people stated that they would like to defend the old Pigneto, the most present attitude was one of resignation. It was for exampled often argued that the future of Pigneto is in the hand of politicians, so the residents just have to accept the changes. Overall, Pigneto is a neighbourhood with a former peripheral status, the matching lower-class aesthetic and an interesting cinematographic history. It nowadays offers a broad spectrum of 'non- mainstream' nightlife and cultural possibilities as well as typical, traditional cuisine. Both its innovative, creative aspects as well as its originality make it authentic in the eyes of many residents, which increases its appeal. Additionally, it is a contrast of urban and rural elements, which new residents find particularly attractive. At the same time, it can be observed that the area is starting to lose some of the desired authenticity, as evident in the commercialised pedestrian zone, which is not perceived as positively by new residents anymore. They prefer the freedom, improvisation, particularity and originality that they still experience in the eastern part of the neighbourhood. This finding suggests that both the village character and the alternative atmosphere are unsustainable when an area becomes too modern, popular and commercialised. But even though it is reasonable to assume that the new residents' taste for authenticity has contributed to Pigneto's transformation, it would be presumptuous to call the described young students, creative artists, radical chic people the reason for gentrification. They are more accurately described as gentrification facilitators, whose consumption practices change the economic landscape of the area. Their preferences increase the economic value of Pigneto, attracting new businesses and consequently displacing original characteristics. While not the focus of this study, it seems that the city government has also recognised Pigneto's economic potential and is further transforming it with projects and investments, such as the restorations in Via del Pigneto. This is happening potentially with an agenda inspired by Richard Florida's recommendations to capitalise on the creative capital of cities in order to attract tourism and investors.

49 7. Limitations

Before concluding this thesis, a few limitations of the conducted research have to be discussed. As for internal validity – the minimization of internal errors and bias – and external validity – the possibility of generalizing the findings –, a qualitatively based research faces some specific limitations. This study is only focusing on one neighbourhood with a small sample of interview respondents: Overall, 39 people have been interviewed and nine of those in-depth. This leads to the study not being representative. However, generalisability is not the purpose of a primarily qualitative approach (Creswell 2009: 192f). The focus lies on particularity; an intensive analysis with a strong empirical foundation in the context of a specific site, exploring individual perceptions and experiences (ibid.: 193). External validity is thus inherently rather weak. Consequently, internal validity or trustworthiness is particularly important; to increase it, triangulation has been used in this project due to the mixed-method approach that combines data from multiple sources such as qualitative interviews and walk-alongs. Additionally, the use of Grounded Theory methodology increases internal validity, since it documents every step within the research process, requiring the researcher to continuously reflect on the findings, repeatedly connecting them with and adjusting them to the data (Corbin et al. 1990: 10). Still, in qualitative research, the researchers themselves are often the research tool, which is a potential source of bias. The provided information will always be somewhat influenced by the presence of the researcher and the asked questions. Also, it will be filtered through the individual views of the interviewees (Crewswell 2009: 179). Since this study was focused on individual narratives, this is not a major limitation; however, not all respondents are equally articulate and perceptive. This problem is important for this thesis, since some interviews were led in Italian and others in English with non-native speakers. This means sometimes there was a language barrier present and respondents could not articulate themselves as they might have in their native language. Additionally, in the process of transcribing the interviews, they were all translated to English. During translation, some specific expressive nuances will always be lost. Thus, it can never be guaranteed whether the translations and interpretations of the answers are at all times what the respondents were trying to say, as evident by for example the aforementioned ambiguous meanings of terms such as paese or popolare. It was tried to reduce the impact of this issue by continuously asking the respondents to clarify ambiguities. Furthermore, while the walk-alongs added a visual dimension to some narratives and generated some observations and interpretations that potentially would not have been explored otherwise, walk-alongs are never absolutely natural (Kusenbach 2003: 464). It is possible that some respondents wanted to show me only a very specific part of the neighbourhood, because if fit into their

50 narrative – for example Bella, who was very eager to show me the absolute worst side of Pigneto – or others wanted to demonstrate their expertise by knowing special locations, bars et cetera. But since the research was focused on individual perceptions and evaluations, these cases are also valuable because they illustrate how selective the image of a neighbourhood can be, depending on the respondent.

51 8. Conclusion

Despite potential limitations, this research has resulted in comprehensible, relevant findings. It has demonstrated that it is indeed different nuances of a perceived authentic atmosphere that attract many new residents and visitors to Pigneto, which is consistent with Sharon Zukin's concept of the consumption of authenticity. In the case of Pigneto, this authenticity is divided into two important elements: a creative, alternative, urban authenticity and an original, rustic, rural authenticity. The local particularity that Rome has no considerable post-industrial aesthetic might have led to it being partly substituted by a rural authenticity based on Pigneto's emergence as an informal neighbourhood in the former countryside outside the Aurelian walls. The perceived rustic, folkloric originality is determined by different factors such as low-rise architecture with an old look, small alleyways, consumption possibilities like regional food markets or traditional cuisine and a village-like community. This implies that perceptions of authenticity have different manifestations, depending on local characteristics and history, which could give impulses for further research in the field of gentrification-facilitating aesthetics and atmosphere. The alternative, urban authenticity is associated with Pigneto's development since the millennium change with a vivid nightlife and art scene, a fast-paced economy with new, cool bars, shops and activities, cultural diversity as well as urban features such as graffiti. Pigneto's cinematographic history and particularly Rome's enfant terrible Pasolini is more associated with its originality, but also serves as a link between subproletarian past and creative present. The two notions of authenticity combined result in an urban landscape full of contrasts, which is very appealing to a young, intellectual, artistic audience. New residents find more beauty in a rough, untidy appearance than in posh, well-organised neighbourhoods, which in Bourdieu's sense can be called the aestheticisation of the common. As opposed to this, old residents lament a loss of community, old-established businesses and tranquillity. In their perspective, the emerging nightlife has caused Pigneto's decline from a familiar village to a deteriorating area of danger, pollution, traffic and drug commerce. The pedestrian zone is the most intense nightlife area and generally the least attractive for the old population, often used as a symbol for Pigneto's fall; interestingly, it seems to become less attractive also for the younger residents. It might be in the process of losing the features new residents consider authentic by becoming a modern nightlife area, crowded with too many bars that cater to an audience not even that alternative anymore. These residents thus prefer frequenting the eastern area of the neighbourhood, which still has many authentic – original and alternative – features in their opinion. This increased popularity of the eastern zone among new residents might further raise its economic potential and therefore facilitate increased gentrification there as well.

52 The alternative authenticity of Pigneto, which goes hand in hand with the emergence of businesses serving the consumption preferences of new residents, is thus ultimately contributing to the decline of its original authenticity, which is connected to its original, modest architecture, long- established restaurants and old-timer communities. If Pigneto will be further gentrified, these characteristics might disappear through restoration projects and displacement processes. It is to be expected that young, creative radical chic Romans will then move on to the next authentic neighbourhood.

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56 Appendix

1. Figures v

2. Short Survey 2.1 Quantitative Analysis xiii 2.2 Notes: New Residents xiv 2.3 Notes: Old Residents xix

3. Interviews 3.1 Interview Protocol xxv 3.2 Coding xxvi 3.3 Interview Transcripts 3.3.1 Valentino xxvii 3.3.2 Andrea, Giacomo & Marco xxxiii 3.3.3 Nina xxxix 3.3.4 Fiona xlvii 3.3.5 Bella li 3.3.6 Chiara lvii 3.3.7 Ugo lviii

iv 1. Figures

Fig. 1: Approximate borders of the Prenestino-Labicano area (blue outline) with Pigneto (yellow outline) and Pigneto's pedestrian zone (l'isola pedonale, red outline)

Fig. 2: Position of Pigneto within Rome

v Fig. 3: Accattone's house in Via Ettore Giovenale 101

Fig. 4: Memorial plate on Accattone's house: 'House of Accattone, built 1940, restored 2005. 'Accattone' film Pasolini 1961'.

Fig. 5: The death of Pina in Via Raimondo Montecuccoli

vi Fig. 6: Memorial plaque in Via Raimondo Montecuccoli: 'On the ground floor of this building, on the 18th of January 1945, Ugo Rosselini started the filming of Roma Città Aperta, the film that marked the beginning of Neorealism.'

Fig. 7: Pasolini portraits in Via di Acqua Bullicante (on an abandoned cinema) and in Via Luchino dal Verme

Fig. 8: Pasolini portraits in Via Fanfulla da Lodi

vii Fig. 9: Google Trends analysis of Italian news searches of Pigneto 2008 to present

Fig. 10: Google Trends analysis of Italian news searches of Pigneto compared to Torpignattara and Trastevere

Fig. 11: Google Trends analysis of Italian web searches of Pigneto, Torpignattara and Trastevere 2004 to present

viii Fig. 12: Google Trends analysis of worldwide news searches of Pigneto, Torpignattara and Trastevere 2008 to present

Fig. 13: Google Trends analysis of worldwide web searches of Pigneto, Torpignattara and Trastevere 2004 to present

ix Fig. 14: Walk-Along with Valentino: Typical Evening in Pigneto 1. Meeting point at the metro stop 2. Necci 1924 3. Graffiti 4. Graffiti 5. High-rise condominiums 6. Pub 'La Bestia Mora' 7. Late night bakery 8. Villini 9. Bar 'Yeah!' 10. Bar 'Rosi' 11. Bangladeshi kiosk

Fig. 15: Walk-Along with Marco & Giacomo: Lunch Break 1. Meeting point at Café/bar 'Dar Ciriola' 2. Traditional bakery 'Fattori' 3. Bar 'Yeah!'

x Fig. 16: Walk-Along with Nina: Exploring Pigneto 1. Meeting Point at her House 2. Empty, rural-appearing fields 3. High-rise condominiums 4. Osteria 'Qui Se Magna!' 5. Bar 'La Bestia Mora' 6. Small houses with gardens 7. Café/bar 'Dar Ciriola'

Fig. 17: Walk-Along with Chiara: Walking the Dog 1. Meeting Point at a bench in the pedestrian zone 2. Immigrants 3. Osteria 'Rosti al Pigneto' 4. Her house

xi Fig. 18: Walk-Along with Bella: Pigneto's Worst Side 1. Meeting point in front of pizzeria 2. Piazza del Pigneto and drug dealers 3. Tangenziale/Train station 4. Syringes in front of residential buildings

xii 2. Short Survey 2.1 Quantitative Analysis

Total Old residents New residents 30 14 16 Sex Female 6 8 Male 8 8 Age 20s 3 8 30s – 4 40s – 4 50s 5 – 60s 3 – 70s 2 – 80s 1 – Living in Pigneto since... Only visiting 2 7 <3 years – 3 5-10 years – 4 >10 years – 2 >25 years 4 – Born in Pigneto 8 – Assessment of Pigneto Positive 3 6 = 43% 7 15 = 94% Mixed tending positive 3 8 No clear opinion 2 2 = 14% Mixed tending negative 3 6 = 43% 1 1 = 6% Negative 3 –

xiii 2.2 Notes: New Residents

Respondent Description Change Cinema History Assessment 1 • A bit • More drug dealers – + Female strange/weird 20s • Radical chic • Underground Visitor • Good balance between 1 IT contrasts • Drug dealers 2 • Street art • Immigration • Didn't know +- Female • Nightlife • Lack of respect about movies 20s • Radical chic being filmed in • Underground Pigneto, thinks Visitor • Cultural Pasolini filmed associations in her IT / EN • No tourists neighbourhoo • Cheap aperitif d (Rebibbia) • Drug dealers • Addiction • Concentration of African immigrants 3 • Socialising • Increasing poverty • Knows about +- Female • Nightlife • More drug dealers old movies 30s • Rock'n'roll being filmed in • Vivid Pigneto, finds Visitor • Comes here to the cinema 'live a little bit' history very IT / EN • Poverty interesting • A bit unsafe 4 • Old labour • Became a new • Cinemas (also +- Female neighbourhood nightlife centre occupied 20s • Remained • More artists ones) closing “folkloric”, but • Was working class down and Lives in also many young • Biggest factory was turning into Pigneto people turned into social businesses since • Good place for centre November young people • Was really poor 2014; • Many families • Drug dealers came girlfriend of • Multicultural with the money 5 • Working class • Too much police architecture & EN philosophy • Street life • Industrial parts with train tracks • Small houses • Beautiful • Lack of green spaces

1 Language in which interview has been led; IT = Italian, EN = English, IT / EN = mixed.

xiv • Not well connected to the rest of Rome • Comfortable because university is close • Her grandparents came here from rural Italy with little money 5 • Many pubs • Turned into nightlife • Cinema +- Male • Old ladies area by capitalists initiatives in 20s • Traditional • They are trying to the • Used to be for make it commercial neighbourhoo Lives in the train • Rising prices d Pigneto workers • More fashionable since 2 • Urban appeal • Gentrification months; with students • More police; some boyfriend and working years ago they didn't of 4 class care what happened environment in Pigneto EN • Nice contrast of • Drug dealers day- and • Not bad, but used to nightlife be better • Small houses • Misses freedom of staying in the street all night, making music and smoking joints • But more benches and restored pavement = better 6 • Work in • More attractive for • Knows a little + Female progress artists and people bit 20s • Used to be with children • Has read 'popolare' • Will take some time 'Ragazzi di Lives in • Hopes it will until it can become Vita' but hasn't Pigneto become even like Trastevere seen films since 1,5 better • Subway is a step in the • Has seen years • Full of young right direction 'Questione di people cuore', which EN • She likes it plays in • A modern San Pigneto (?), Lorenzo or thought it was Trastevere cool • Not very familiar 7 • Pretty cool • More nightlife on one – + Male • Families, quiet side of the railway 20s on one side and the other side Visitor young people and fun EN • Cool place

xv 8 • In this period of • He's an 'old • Most famous -+ Male his life it's inhabitant', so he's not film is 30s boring so fascinated with Accattone • Wants to move 'Pigneto • Street where Lives in to another city gentrification' Accattone Pigneto • All of his friends • Not only lived since 1999 live there, which gentrification: it's • His favourite is good overrated nowadays film: 'L'odore EN • Like a village • In 1999 it was also not della notte' by • It's not as interesting, but Caligari cultural and cheaper, so it was cool interesting as people think; it's not 'the Roma Brooklyn' that people say 9 • Very multi- • Gentrification • Doesn't know +- Male ethnic with • Displacement of lower a lot 30s people from all and medium income • Subject of over the world people many Pasolini Visitor • A bit • Substituted by higher works problematic income people • late 60s, 70s IT because of drug more movies dealing and criminality • But after all a nice quarter • Close to the centre and university 10 • Picturesque • Ongoing change due • Underground +- Male • Decadent to gentrification small cinemas 20s • 'Verace', real, • Maybe in 2, 3, 5 years • Program young can another area will be cinemas Visitor; breathe the real the core of the • Cinema comes to Roman nightlife, maybe festivals Pigneto atmosphere Centocelle near Forte • Some cinemas once a week • Unlike the old Prenestina (an closed to go out; centre or underground social friend of 11 uptown centre) neighbourhoods • It's about phases: • You can live the when you finish the EN real spirit of 'primal substances' Romans you have to rethink • Vintage lifestyle and relocate to • Vintage another area architecture • Already Centocelle is • Real essence of improving and people becoming more interesting, so they are going there 11 • Young • Pigneto is losing its • Pasolini +- Female • Decadent atmosphere • Cineclubs 20s • Real Roman • Cinema Aquila place • Underground Visitor; • Real people cinema friend of 10

xvi EN 12 • Multi-ethnic • Positive change • Only knows + Female • Many • Not considered little 40s associations 'outside' anymore • Pasolini • Very open; open • It's part of Rome now • Post-war Lives in people • More control, they Rome Pigneto • Very close to the don't abandon since 5 centre it/leave it years • Nice stores and deteriorating anymore ice cream shops • Less dirt IT 13 • 'Popolare' • Social and structural • Knows about it + Female • Social change • Pasolini 40s • Independent • Many families • But is 'not an • Alternative • More offices expert' Lives in • Small shops Pigneto • Associations since 10 • Restored houses years. Has 2 • Better than before children

IT 14 • One of the few • Age of inhabitants: • Was about to + Male Roman more young people buy the house 40s neighbourhoods • Big improvement, but of Accattone where one can still not so well (without Lives in have a house managed knowing); Pigneto with a garden • Getting more didn't because since 2003. • Very calm, but expensive; paid 160k it was too Owns a full of nightlife for his house, small software • Many locals, you somebody offered him • Used to have a company in can meet people 300k cinema Pigneto. • Needs more association Has 2 parks and places with other children for children residents, • Dangerous where they IT because of watched old dealers in movies that pedestrian zone were shot in • Good community Pigneto with neighbours • Many cinema • Everything is workers in close Pigneto, for • History of example southern Italians screenwriters coming to Rome • 'Il Tetto' • Reminds him of a village in south Italy, so it's like home (he's from southern Italy) • 'It's not like in the city' • Most of his friends live here • Used to be very

xvii poor • Small houses • Preferred employees for his company that life in Pigneto

15 • Lives there • He thinks it changed a • Knows a little + Male because he likes long time ago bit 40s it • There are people who • Pasolini • Knew Pigneto see it negatively and Lives in before he moved who see it positively; Pigneto there, decided for him it's better since 10 that if he would • No problem with years. Owns move to Rome dealers anymore in 'Casa he would move this part (the part east Magiacotti', to Pigneto of the pedestrian an artisanal • Many young zone) food shop people, families, • He doesn't see the in Pigneto; children police has a little • Many schools • Much more quiet daughter. • Culture IT 17 • A lot of trees in • Has been changing • Important +- Male the middle part 'somehow' area for Italian 30 • Pedestrian area • They want to make it directors such is nice in the a cultural centre as Pasolini, Visitor evening, but he • The council but also Visconti, doesn't come private associations Rosselini EN there much in try to make initiatives • This made the the day, so • But some important area more doesn't know cultural places like famous than • Original Cinema Aquila and other • Historical Circolo degli Artisti surrounding • Young closed, negative effect neighbourhoo • Main change: people ds started noticing Pigneto as a cultural centre, so it's more frequented, but cultural thing have actually reduced become of lack of funding and income

xviii 2.3 Notes: Old Residents

Respondent Description Change Cinema History Assessment 18 • 'In' • Buildings have been • TV show + Female • Nightlife restructured Cesaroni (?) 20s • Good change, because it's safer Born in Pigneto; daughter of 19

IT / EN 19 • Parks • More populated by • Roma Città + Female • Pubs young people Aperta → St. 50s • Old • The oldest part is the Helena church same, but the more • Doesn't Born in internal part (towards remember Pigneto; the pedestrian zone) much mother of has become more 18 modern

IT 20 • Old quarter • Many bars – +- Female • Was a popular • Commercial politics 50s quarter without regulations • Her grandfather • Commercial value is Born in was a Ferreira rising Pigneto working in • They didn't preserve Pigneto old artisan shops IT • Interesting • Closed places of because of alternative culture diverse people; with movies and mix of culture, now only 'indigenous like eating and drinking me', immigrants, • Quarter is students overwhelmed by • A lot of places to commercial policies meet people and chat • A place where you feel that you belong to • A lot of contradictions, an interesting neighbourhood 21 • Confusing • Gentrification • He doesn't like +- Male infrastructure • Used to be poor, now Pasolini; he's 20s • Troubled getting richer; 'fucking neighbourhood tourists; it' weird for boring' Born in because of fights original residents • Loves old Pigneto, and drug • high prices movies, but works in dealers, but also • like Soho in London 'Pasolini is not father's happy place or Hell's Kitchen in a moviemaker';

xix vinyl shop; • Nice place to NYC 'I don't used to live, you get • 'Everything is consider work in a used to it; he changing, so just let Pasolini pub in likes it go. I don't care' cinematic' Pigneto; • Italian way, • But thanks to older weird for people Pasolini brother of from outside Pigneto is 22 becoming the centre of the EN city • Neighbourhoo d of Pasolini → fashionable • History is working for the neighbourhood • Accattone house, Necci • But many people, 'almost all' just pretend to be interested 22 • Used to be • Tourists are almost • Cinematograph +- Male completely normal now ic image is 20s different; no • Very cool, they can exploited tourists at all enlarge vision and Born in • 'We are real and knowledge through Pigneto, we do what we new people works in his like' • But also a problem father's with the vinyl shop; gentrification, younger 'socialists and liberals brother of are arguing' 21 • A lot of liberals moved there when it EN started 'booming' • Richer people come to watch 'poor people' and a 'typical place' • Hard to assess what is 'a product and what is reality'; his dad's shops are 'real' but big places like Necci have a lot of suspicious money • In 2004 his dad had to close a CD shop because nobody wanted to buy CDs anymore, but the vinyl shop is now going really well, because Pigneto people love things like vinyls and CDs

xx • Problems with drug dealers since more than 10 years, but gentrification gave it a boost; in pedestrian zone, people die with heroin 23 • Anarchist • Old inhabitants were • Neorealists - Female • Different craftsmen, ordinary • Many films 50s nationalities people, they all went • Roma Città • Bad mixture, no away Aperta Lives in the integration • Families left because • Pasolini came pedestrian • Used to be nice, of nightlife to Pigneto to zone since lovely, quiet, • Nightlife ruined the find little boys 25 years characteristic quarter • Necci 1924, St. and picturesque, • With the nightlife the Helena church IT silent 'black people' came • There was a • There used to be with drugs and phase when it little artisanal drinking was not shops • Many artists and interesting tourists, boheme, a anymore for transsexual politician cinema, but • Abandoned now again: • A mess, liked for Tutta Colpa di nightlife but not for Freud living because you're not protected • No respect • It's been ruined • Dirty • Less interesting people • Too many black people from Senegal that ruin the ambient because they don't respect the locals 24 • No integration • No old inhabitants are • Pasolini liked - Male • Everyone thinks there anymore degrading 50s and does what • 'It sucks now' areas like they want • Problem is not the Pigneto Lives in • Complete people, but the Italian Pigneto anarchy politicians since 30 • Civil rules are • Police is only there for years not respected black people and • Police does not dealers IT protect the • Police cannot arrest 'normal people' anyone because the politicians want this situation with heroin and prostitution 25 • It's OK • More movida, • Doesn't know ? Male nightlife 60s • more famous

Lives in

xxi Pigneto since 30 years; friend of 26

IT 26 • Beautiful zone • There are a lot of • Pasolini was +- Male sandwich shops always filming 60s • The change is a bit good and a bit bad Born in Pigneto; friend of 25

IT 27 • 'Human size', • Used to be better • Accattone by -+ Male Friendly people, • More chaos Pasolini 50s families • Less quiet • Many • Quite central • More people peripheries Visitor; • It's still friendly but have a cinema frequents used to be better history Pigneto since he was 15

IT / EN 28 • Pedestrian zone • All young people go – + Female is the most there 70s important zone • Many bars • Very open • Good and bad things Visitor; • Old people go • A lot of people in the lives in Via and sit on pedestrian zone; it's Prenestina; benches important for the Used to • It's nice quarter work on • There are still • More people with Pigneto's people sitting in more culture fruit and the street during • Persons that you can vegetable the day, they see on TV (famous market; don't do that people) go there Takes care anymore in • Can't say anything of a friend other quarters bad, because she's in Pigneto. catholic and she doesn't want to judge IT 29 • Has a pedestrian • Now everything is • There used to - Male zone over be an open air 80s • There is a • Now there are cinema in market 'coloured people' summertime Was born in • People come • It's getting worse and everybody Pigneto from outside for • Now it's a mess with went there; the market many immigrants this is over too IT • Pedestrian zone who steal your bag used to be the real Pigneto • When he was young it was all good people

xxii living there 30 • Has lived in • Now more expensive • Roma Città -+ Male many quarters • New 'popolare' Aperta: St. 74 of Rome; Pigneto quarters further in Helena church used to be the periphery • Pasolini: Lives in peripheral • Some improvements; Accattone Pigneto • When he was a new metro, more since 1980 child, quarters mobility outside the walls • Social level: changes IT of San Giovanni in a bad way were called • Cannot let his 'neighbourhoods grandnephews play outside of the outside anymore walls', they were because of the cars 'popolare' • Now everyone stays quarters; inside in their own home the walls there • Drug dealers and were criminals today less 'aristocratic' evident quarters • Also deteriorating • 'In Pigneto you • Less children because live well' people became old • Pigneto was and grown-up born in 1925 as children left, so only a 'garden town' old people remained • 'Villini' are original, but many have been rebuilt after the wall • Neighbouring plot was bombed and there is still nothing • Middle-class area (the villini area) • 50 years ago it was 'popolare' • There were fewer cars • Houses were mostly inhabited by families and children played in the street • Families knew each other • Drug dealers, criminals because it is a popular area • Is called Pigneto because it used to be a private territory with

xxiii pine trees 31 • Used to be • Reborn with • Filmmakers -+ Male industrial area, alternative bars, came for 60s people came to restaurants, nightlife, authentic work; there cultural activities people Was born in were craftsmen • A central quarter, well • Authentic Pigneto and workers, connected with characters also offices university and airport were in IT • Then • Was proletarian, now Pigneto deindustrializati bourgeois: educated • Pasolini shot on people, doctors, Accattone • Was abandoned artists • Necci 1924 when industries • New life of Rome • Roma Città closed • Pine trees are gone Aperta • Ferrovieri left • Houses cost a lot now • Germi: Il • His parents lived • Now people don't Ferroviere there, his father come anymore to was a factory work, but to party worker in a • Everything changed pharmaceutical with factory (now deindustrialization there is a hotel) and European Union • Parents came to • Fascinating, because Pigneto when it's not all decadent, they were young but reborn • He went to work • Everyone was a big in other parts of family before, new Italy and came people don't even back in the 80s, greet on the street bought back his • There used to be parents' house many pine trees but • Important part they are gone of the history of • Rome has become Rome unlivable, wants to • Tourists don't sell his parents' house know Pigneto and move to the and its history seaside • Was always part of Rome, people worked there with dignity

xxiv 3. Interviews 3.1 Interview Protocol

Name: Age: Occupation: From: In Pigneto since:

1. When did you go to Pigneto for the first time? Quando è stata la prima volta che è andato/a al Pigneto?

2. What was your first impression? Quale è stata la sua prima impressione?

3. What was most remarkable/striking/noticeable? Cosa l’ha colpito/a di più? Quale è stata la cosa maggiormente degna di nota?

4. Why did you decide to move to Pigneto? Perché ha deciso di trasferirsi al Pigneto?

5. What is important to you in your neighbourhood? Cosa è importante per lei nel suo quartiere/vicinato?

6. What do you like about Pigneto? Cosa le piace del Pigneto?

7. Do you dislike something about Pigneto? C’è qualcosa che non le piace del Pigneto?

8. Is Pigneto different from the rest of the city/in what ways? Il Pigneto è diverso dal resto della città? In che modo?

9. Do you know something about the history of Pigneto? Conosce qualcosa della storia del Pigneto?

10. Do you think Pigneto is changing/in what ways? Pensa che il Pigneto stia cambiando? In che modo?

11. With which words would you describe Pigneto? Con quali parole descriverebbe il Pigneto?

12. What does the word 'authentic'/'authenticity' mean to you? Does it apply to Pigneto? Cosa significa per lei la parola 'autentico'/'autenticità? Si addice al Pigneto?

13. Do you know something about the cinematographic history of Pigneto? Sa qualcosa sulla storia cinematografica del Pigneto?

xxv 3.2 Coding

Code Matrix for new interview respondents Code Matrix for old interview respondents 2

2 Source: MAXQDA

xxvi 3.3 Interview Transcripts

Interview 1: Valentino 34, journalist/travel blogger, born in Rome. Lives two kilometres east of Pigneto in the Prenestino area in an apartment that is owned by his parents, but wants to move to Berlin.

Q: So, can you tell me something about how you experience Pigneto? A: Yes, somehow it became at some point a very cool area to hang out for young people or, not so young, like my age, 30s. And I don't know what the reason is cause... I really have no idea. It just started to be full of places to hang out, pubs, aperitif bars and especially Via del Pigneto, which is a pedestrian zone, and yeah, some cultural activities, I guess, I haven't seen them. Q: You don't go to the cultural activities? A: Uh, not so often, sometimes, but not in Pigneto anyway. Q: Yeah, that's what I meant. And is it your favourite place to go out? A: Uh, I don't know, it's one of the areas where you can go out and find a bunch of places to have a beer and there's other people around. It's not so far from my area, so for me it's really convenient to come here. The other area is San Lorenzo, it's a bit further. For example, San Lorenzo has been a very popular area to hang out for many years. I remember to hang out when I was maybe 16 or 17, so a long time. Q: So Pigneto hasn't been that popular back then? A: I don't think 20 years ago it was popular. Q: So what do you think what makes Pigneto special? Or is it different from San Lorenzo for example? A: From San Lorenzo... well, San Lorenzo is really popular for university students, cause the university is really close. And here, I think less, I'm sure there are some students living here, but not so many. I don't know, maybe, uh, I have the impression, but it's just my impression, that more or it tries to be more sophisticated in Pigneto compared to... still alternative, just like San Lorenzo, but you see maybe a little bit older people compared to San Lorenzo. San Lorenzo is sometimes really like, I don't know, people throwing up in the streets everywhere, it's just like I don't know... when you're getting into your 30s, maybe you realise, that is not the place where I want to hang out. But I used to hang out there a lot. So I think if you are in your 30s, this looks like a place where you can find a lot of other people who are in their 30s, so it's OK. I have this impression. Q: Ah, that's interesting. A: You see aperitif bars and you see people are generally older than in San Lorenzo. But still you can find all ages. And also I have the impression it became popular with tourists. I think at some point they included it in some Lonely Planet guide, or Rough guide or whatever it is. And from that point if you go to Pigneto you always hear some people speaking in English, which is a bit curious, cause it's not really the centre Q: No, it's quite hard to reach, isn't it? A: Uh, well, it's not a place where you would expect to find tourists. So, yeah, I think popular with tourists as well. Yeah, alternative I would say, or at least tries to be alternative [laughs]. Q: It tries? So you don't think it really is? A: Well, when you go to a place that is considered to be alternative, there's always some... I have the impression that some people try really hard to look alternative, but it's just my impression. Q: And why do you think it tries to be alternative? A: It's because of the people... ah, this is new for example [showing me a graffiti]. This hasn't been here a few days ago. Q: Ah, I know this place [We were walking past Necci 1924 restaurant] A: Yes, this place is historical. There's a lot of graffiti everywhere, so we will see a lot. This is a historical place, Pasolini was hanging out here and it's really old. Q: Do you know the movie Accattone? A: Yes. I'm not sure I have seen it from start to end, but yes.

xxvii Q: Yeah, it's quite boring [laughs]. I watched it to prepare for the research. Cause they filmed a lot of scenes at the Necci place. A: Apparently, Pasolini... you know he was gay? So, people say Pasolini picked up young guys in Pigneto. Guys who were virgins, because he liked that. Q: Really? That sounds terrible. A: Yeah. So maybe that was also a reason why he liked to film here. So it was interesting, because at some point everybody started talking about let's go to Pigneto, let's go to Pigneto, let's have an aperitif in Pigneto. I was like OK, and it was kind of new to me. I think it has been like this for maybe 10 years, I don't wanna say something wrong, but more or less. I think 20 years ago it wasn't like this. Q: So what was it like, what do you think? Less popular, less touristic? A: More regular, less young people. Like, uh, yeah, just a normal area I guess. Q: And have you ever been there back then? A: No, not on purpose. Only now when something came up within the last years... Street art everywhere! Some are nice, some are not as nice. Q: So which ones are nice and which ones are not? A: When we see some nice ones I will show you. Q: OK. So graffiti, you think, are typical for Pigneto? A: Yes. Yeah, quite typical, like in my area you wouldn't see graffiti. Q: Also in the rest of Rome I think, not that much? A: No, no. There are some areas, there is an area that I heard of Tormarancia. But I haven't been there to be honest, it's quite far from here, on the other side of the river. Like, these ones are nothing special. Q: No, you don't like those? A: No, well, they're OK. Q: So do you think the graffiti attract people to come here as well? A: Yeah, I think so. Some tourists come here to take pictures. Q: What kind of tourists do you think come here? A: Well I wouldn't say the American family with small children. More young people, people who read guidebooks and look for alternative places, so... I would look for this kind of place when I travel. Not just the typical monuments and stuff. You never know where the graffiti will show up, so I don't know where to show them to you. [unrelated conversation about my thesis and camera] A: So from my point of view it's just a place to hang out, and... Q: And would you move here, would you live here? A: Uhm, I'm not sure, cause, well, for sure I wouldn't move on Via del Pigneto or one of those streets where the movida is... Q: Movida? What is that? A: It's like all the people hanging out late at night. Q: Ah. Yeah, it must be loud. A: Yeah, exactly. Uh, I'm not sure cause looks like the area is a bit degrading. Q: Yeah? How? A: Uhm, well for example, this drug dealing under the sun is a bit too much. I mean I wouldn't have any particular issue, but imagine if I have children one day, I'm not sure I would like that. For example, there is another area which is called Torpignattara which is decent to Pigneto... Q: Decent? A: It's close. OK, this is still Pigneto, but I guess there's no more graffiti. Uh, and Torpignattara even more than here, like, a lot of, uh, drugs in the streets and... Torpignattara has a very high... well, the presence of immigrants is very heavy, which doesn't mean nothing wrong in itself, but for example if you see those guys from Africa in Via del Pigneto, they end up selling drugs. They come here, they don't know what to do, like, they can't find a normal job, so they end up being dealers for...criminality, so they end up just selling drugs. Q: Yes, I get it. But you think they are more in Torpignattara than in Pigneto? A: Yeah, definitely more in Torpignattara. It's one of the most multi-ethnic areas in the whole country, not just in Rome. Q: Oh wow, I see. And you think the drug dealers came with the bars?

xxviii A: With the bars, what do do you mean? Q: Yeah, I mean when the area became more popular, you think that also brought the dealers or were they there before as well? A: I never thought about that, but that's not a stupid interpretation, cause it makes sense. Where the young people are, they come and try to sell drugs. In San Lorenzo it's the same. They know they can find many costumers every night. Q: Yes, I guess in a more residential area they don't find costumers. A: Yeah, just get bored [laughs]. So a bit of criminality, you know. Q: Maybe you can show me later, where you would go when you go out here. A: OK. Q: So how often do you come here, what do you think? A: Well I don't go out as often as I used to do, but I would say maybe can be every week or once in two weeks, or... depends. Q: And for what do you come here? Oh, I like these buildings [we were walking past high rise residential buildings]. A: You do? Q: You don't? A: Uh, they are just buildings who were built for maximising income and without regards to aesthetic values. But they have some kind of... urban fascination. Yeah, cause this used to... and still is a very, uh, popular, in the sense of working class... they live here. Oh, your question, why I come here. Well, there are a lot of places where you can have a drink or aperitif and... You know, or when the weather starts to be warm enough you can just hang out in Via del Pigneto, so you can be outside where you can find a lot of other people, so... Q: And what do you do, when you come here? A: I can either have aperitivo or go to a proper restaurant.... Drink, which can either be in a pub or in the street, and... there are not so many places where you can, like, spend the night, like a club. In San Lorenzo there are more. There are some, but not so many. But sometimes I also end up going to a club. There are mostly pubs, but in San Lorenzo you can find more live music, or for example DJ sets. Here it's quite hard to find such... that kind of places. Not so many. Like in Via del Pigneto there used to be one, but I'm not even sure if it's still working. Q: My friend told me about a place called Artisti or something? A: Ah, Circolo Degli Artisti? It used to be a very popular club, not far from Via del Pigneto, 5 minutes walk. Uh, it was a club like proper discotheque with a huge garden, but it shut down last year because they, like, the police found out there were not paying taxes or something and the place was shut down. It's a pity cause it was one of the most popular clubs in the whole city. Yeah, you can find... cause the area was so big, the club itself, the building, it wasn't so huge, but then the garden around it, and from May to September most of the people would just stay outside. So you would really find thousands of people on a Saturday. It's a pity cause it was a nice place to hang out. Q: So they were only shut down because they didn't have a license? A: No it was more because of taxes... Q: Ah, taxes, right. A: ...they were not paying their income or something. That's what I heard, I also heard they re-opened in a completely different area of Rome. I haven't checked out honestly. Q: Maybe this time they are paying their taxes. A: I don't know. I also heard it was because of political reasons. Q: What kind of political reasons? A: Like, they used to be close to the left party, but then in the last few years the guys at the top of the party changed, so it's like a different current within the party. Like, antagonist guys. So they decided to... it's like they had some kind of protection, even if they were not paying taxes, and now they changed and now maybe the new bosses are not so keen of having that place, protecting that. Q: Ah OK. Are here more places that had to close for whatever reason? A: In this area... No, no. But I guess they made so much money, in this place, Circolo Degli Artisti, so much money. Q: Ah OK, so not a very anti-capitalist place [laughs].

xxix A: No, no [laughs]. They used to put up good rock music, I remember 10 years ago, but then they started to play the same songs every time until I started to think they even used the same CD or maybe they had 100 copies of the same CDs. Ah, that's a nice place for when you want cornetti at night. It's usually open until very late. Q: Ah, interesting. So what do you think is the look of Pigneto? A: The look? Q: Yeah, you know, it's very different. You have these very high buildings, but also these, uh, single, small... A: Yeah, that's interesting. It's like traces from the past and something less old still. But there's also a nice pub over there, this small street, called La Bestia Mora, or something like that. The look of it... you know, it looks something in between run down and uh, not very modern? I mean, talking about the buildings. But it has some kind of maybe beauty? Q: And what do you think is its beauty? A: Uh, let me see where we can go. Why do I say beauty? Q: Uh, no, what do you think is its beauty? A: Uh, well that there are so many young people around. That's nice, that's also something beautiful to see. Or that there are so many places, restaurants, pubs, cultural associations, so that's something beautiful. Some old buildings are also nice. Like that building [a small old-looking house with a garden]. Q: Yes, it's beautiful. I like that it smells like flowers [laughs]. A: Yes, it's spring now. One week ago the trees didn't have any leaves. [conversation about when I arrived in Rome] Q: Oh, I like this building. It's funny, it's just in the middle of the street. A: In my area, you don't have short buildings like this. One, two, three story buildings. It's just like the typical... Q: Palazzi? A: Palazzo from the 60s with nothing beautiful about it. But here you can actually find some nice, old buildings or some small villas with gardens and stuff. Q: Do you know why there are small buildings in Pigneto? A: Some are like quite old, when they hadn't started yet speculating on flats and buildings, so having very high buildings in order to maximise the investment. And some others don't look so old, which means they may have been built like this, not so... Q: When do you think they have been built? A: I have no idea, like this doesn't look so old [a one family house with a refurbished facade]. Or it might be that they restored it. Might also be. Q: So how would you feel if Pigneto change a lot? For example if they would clean up all the dirt, if the dealers would be gone, if the houses would be refurbished. How would you feel about that. A: Uh, well, it would be good about the dealers. I would be happy if the dealers were gone. About cleaning up everything would also be nice but I'm a little bit of a decay-lover, so I like old buildings, a bit of... but yeah, it makes sense to renew them, it would make sense. Depends on the way, because sometimes they renew buildings in an ugly way. Q: Like in what way? A: They don't care about beauty. Some old buildings in Rome are nicer than the newer ones, including those built starting from the 60s, they're quite ugly. Including my building. Here you can see some that are nice, because they are from before the 60s. Then they started with just pouring concrete, so... I mean, renewing is good but do something nice! Q: Do something nice? Like what? A: Uh, I don't know, just take beauty into consideration. I mean it really depends on the buildings, if there's not much to do they're just ugly, there's no way you could improve them. Some buildings are really too crumbling, so they would... Q: Yeah, I mean there are a lot of ruins here as well. A: Yeah, like buildings in decay. Really like wreckages. Q: Do you like those? Cause you said you're a decay-lover? A: Yeah I mean they have some sort of... they are fascinating in some kind of way. But yeah, I mean you

xxx should do something about them. Otherwise it just looks like a city after the war [laughs]. Q: OK and what would you think would be the consequences if all the houses would be renewed, improved? Do you think there would be consequences for the neighbourhood? A: I guess nice consequences, like it would give the area a cleaner look, so only good consequences, I guess. I mean you can renew an old building, it's like what they do with paintings, so it's like, they renew them, what's the word... restore them, but still they somehow keep the original feeling, the original building, so they should be the same. Q: So, that's what you would support? A: Yes. Q: So what do you think, how will Pigneto develop in the future? A: It looks like it's gong to be this alternative area for quite a long time, I guess. Q: You think? A: Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, it's getting more and more popular thanks to guides and more people talking about it. Like for example you [laughs]. You're from Germany and you came to Pigneto, so you... how did you learn about it? Q: Well, I came here last year with a friend to go out. That's how I learned about it. I first wanted to write me thesis about the metro system in Rome, about the development of the metro and Roman infrastructure, cause it's really... I think that Roman public transport is terrible [laughs]. A: Terrible is still a good word, it doesn't really give the idea. Ghastly, or I don't know... ghastly. Q: It's not an easy city I think, to have to work to get around. A: No, it's not, not at all. Q: So I read how metro systems can influence a neighbourhood A: Or the lack of it. That's quite ridiculous about Rome, it's such a big city with only two and a half lines. We have a third line, but but it doesn't go to the centre This is also a nice place to hang out. Very nice place. [a bar/café called Yeah! with a 60s inspired interior and graffiti on the wall. The guests are mostly young people working on their laptops.] [More conversation about how I chose my thesis topic] Q: You think that's also a typical Pigneto place? Oh, it sells its own t-shirts. A: Yeah. Typical Pigneto place. Q: Whenever you want, we can go and have a drink or a snack, you can show me where you would go. A: We can start moving back towards Via del Pigneto, that area, or maybe Necci as well. Q: Sure. A place where you would go. A: Well actually I was here last weekend with a friend of mine and we went to one of those bars in the pedestrian area, Via del Pigneto, and we ordered, I think it was the first time I went to that place, I thought there were all the same, but we were so disappointed. Cause we ordered this fish aperitif and we paid 10€ and it was so small. Like my friend that 3 pieces like this [suggesting a ca. 5cm piece with his hands]. Q: So you think it's getting more expensive? A: Probably. Q: So that was the first time you paid so much money here? A: No, I mean other times I paid the same amount of money, but... Q: But for better food? A: For more food. No, I mean the quality was good, but, so my friend wanted to have a plate of spaghetti after that, she had a carbonara in another place [laughs]. I totally understand her. Q: Was that a new place, do you know? A: This aperitif bar, I think it was the first time I went there, it was one of those you can see on Via del Pigneto with tables on the outside. Uh... I think especially for students and young people it's quite a fun area to live in. Q: So if you would be a student, you... A: Yes! Q: ...would live here? A: Yes. I would. If I was a student and I had just moved to Rome, this would be one of the best places to be. Q: And why exactly?

xxxi A: Because it's fun. Fun. It's a place where you can have fun. Since when I was 20, 21 I was basically looking for fun. Other areas would be so much more boring, would be boring. And this is not boring at all. Q: So if you would compare it to a place to Trastevere for example, what is the...? A: It's different. Trastevere is like a window shop for tourists. Used to be like 60 years ago where normal people lived, then they also realised they could sell it to tourists. So all the normal people were somehow kicked out of the area in some way or another and it became a not posh area, but you know, very popular. Q: And a lot more expensive probably? A: Yeah, compared to Pigneto, yes. Also yeah, also renting a room and... We can try at Necci, are you hungry? Q: No, I'm not so hungry, but you know... A: We can have aperitivo, which is not so much food? Q: Yeah, sounds great. A: And then if we're still hungry, we can try around. I've been to Necci many times, but I think I never had aperitif. They should do it. [conversation about Amsterdam] Q: So you said what happened to Trastevere, do you think it could also happen here? A: I don't think it can be another Trastevere, this area cannot be, it's different. Q: Why? A: Trastevere is the perfect place for tourists. Here you still have some tourists, but it's a different kind of tourist who wants to see the alternative, the... and we're talking about a certain age. As I said, it's not really, families wouldn't be interested in coming here. Q: What does the word authentic mean to you? A: Uh, in connection to Pigneto or in general? Q: In general. A: Something which is not fake, which is not... artificially built or some other reason, I don't know. It's not an easy question. Q: I know, sorry [laughs]. And would you connect it with Pigneto? A: Uh... Yeah, yeah. Q: Why? A: Cause it's basically locals you see around, it's not like the centre.. I think it looks like, authentic enough. Q: So you mainly connect it with the people, when you talk about a neighbourhood, you would say authenticity depends on the kind of people who live there? A: People who live and people who hang around, not just live. Q: And what is important to you, in a neighbourhood where you live? A: Uh, many things, uh, shops, if you can have all the shops you need in walking distance it's great, and also an area like this is nice cause if you want to hang out at night you don't have to go somewhere else. My area is not like that. So if I want to hang out, I have to move somewhere else. So yeah, that's the basic things I guess. It's nice if there's enough young people. Like in my area it seems like people from the 40s, which means they're born in the 40s. Or 30s or even 20s sometimes. Q: So your neighbourhood is definitely authentic you would say? A: Yeah, yeah. Q: More authentic than Pigneto? A: Maybe even more authentic than this. Or authentic-different. Q: So in your opinion, which words describe Pigneto best? A: Uh, nice and fun. Alternative as well, I would say.

xxxii Interview 2: Andrea, Marco, Giacomo 26, from Sicily, has been living in Rome for five years and lives in a rented apartment in Pigneto with his girlfriend since one year. 29, from Sicily, has been living in Rome for three years and rents an apartment in Pigneto since one year. 26, from a small-town 15 kilometres from Rome. They work together in a design/communication agency in Pigneto.

Q: When have you been to Pigneto for the first time? A: When I arrived in Rome, I went to Pigneto for seeing concerts or to parties and because I have a lot of friends who live in Pigneto, so to visit them. Q: So that was 5 years ago? A: Yes, the first place to go to have drinks for me was Pigneto. M: Cause he is a singer, he has a rock band, and Pigneto is a very cool zone of Rome for concerts, for underground movements and for his profession it's very good. It's a very creative zone, for music, for graphic, for design, Pigneto is a little quarter, but there are more people who are interested in this creativity. Q: What is the name of your band? A: B.M.C., it means Big Mountain County. Q: So you came to Pigneto first when you also came to Rome first, so 3 years ago? M: Yeah. After about 10 days with my ex-girlfriend I come here because there is a good restaurant 5 minutes from here, the name is Necci, you know? Q: Yeah. M: OK. So for this day I visit Pigneto, Necci... other times I was going out in this zone, three years ago. [Waiter brings food] This is for you [They had asked me to try Coppiette, a snack made from dried pork meat]. This is a very typical part of the cuisine of Rome, its name is Coppiette, it's meat with spices. It's very chewy. Q: Thank you! And where exactly do you live [to Giacomo], one hour away you said. G: Aprilia, small city near to Rome. About 15km away. Q: Ah OK, so you come to Pigneto every day for work? G: Yeah, every day. Q: And what were your first impressions of Pigneto? A: Cool. G: Dirty. M: Pigneto for me has two faces, OK? A face that is very very interesting for creativity and music, underground movement and a face, um, so bad, because there are many problems, like immigrants, more immigrants are in the centre of Pigneto, and more homes that are not very beautiful, because of the economic problems of Italy from seven years to now are very important. These problems, you can see this problem in the street. For me it has two faces for this. A: Yes, it's dirty. But it's an underground place, so it's dirty, but it's cool, and for me it's not a problem. Q: So what is most typical for you in Pigneto? M: Typical? The immigrants with the shit, with the smoke, with the heroin, with the cocaine. The black face, OK? The white face is the people, people are very... the empathy is very good, everybody speaks... for example, if I don't know you, I can speak with you, you are very very welcome. This is a typical face of Pigneto. Q: That people talk to each other? A: Yes, it's open. M: In Italy, most people are cool, but in Pigneto, Pigneto is very... A: It's a little country. M: Yeah. It's a little country, it's very good. A: There are many pubs for eating something or for listening to music, playing music, it's cool for this reason. It's econom... uhm, cheap. It's very cheap. M: The prices are not very high.

xxxiii A: It's not expensive. M: For a student, for us, it's good for the economy, OK? With 10€ you can eat, you can drink. It's not expensive, like other places of Rome. For example Prati, Trastevere, it's more expensive than Pigneto. Q: So what's different from Pigneto to the rest of Rome? M: This. A: We have people who are very easy, not brand-headed. You can put... M: Pigneto is like the south of Italy. A little country where everybody is... it's more slow, more cool than other places. For example, the Colosseum, the centre, Trastevere, Prati are the centre of a city like Rome, a big town, and the consequence are the more expensive price, everybody sees the look, the brand, Pigneto not. Pigneto is like... tranquilo. More quiet. Q: Do you see a lot of tourists here? A: No. No, no. In San Lorenzo more than Pigneto. M: In San Lorenzo there are more tourists than in Pigneto, but this tourism is principally the Erasmus. A: It's for the pubs, for going out, for the life by night. M: The party people, the people who have about 19 years to 26. The people who are 30, 40 years old go to the centre A: But the people who live in Rome don't know Pigneto. Q: No? A: No. Many people who live in the centre talk about Pigneto, they say Where is Pigneto? Q: Really? Why do you think that is? A: Because in the past this place was with a very bad reputation. M: Rome has more beauties. The people know more the centre than this little country. But this little country for me is more interesting than the centre, because here you can see the true beautiful, true Roman people, the true life, the quotidian life. The centre is just for tourists, I go to Paris, I go to Berlin, I go to Rome to visit the centre, but OK... Q: Do you know something about the history of Pigneto? G: Yeah. In the second world war San Lorenzo and Pigneto received the most bombs from the Nazis, the USA... the American bombardment. M: I know about the cinema, for example Pasolini... A: ...lived in Pigneto. M: ...lived in Pigneto and loved Pigneto lifestyle. For example, if you go to Necci, the zone was the first principal zone where Pasolini wrote his first movie. Q: Yeah, I watched Accattone, there are some scenes from Necci. M: Most scenes from this film are about Pigneto. Q: Does it make the neighbourhood more interesting for you? A: No, for me no. It's not a reason to love Pigneto. It's cool, but... M: It's a good reason for people who love the cinema, the writing. There's other interesting things, but I think it's very interesting if you love this. But for me it's not so important. Q: You said Pigneto had a bad reputation. All: Yeah. Q: How do you think it influences it now, today? M: If you go to the centre of Pigneto, it's a little street, very very beautiful, more little pubs, it's very beautiful. Q: Via del Pigneto? A: Sì, zona pedonale. [Yes, the pedestrian zone.] M: But there is the problem of heroin. I'm not racist. The problem is with the mafia. They use this street for the sale of marijuana, cocaine, heroin... For example, a family with little children who wants to walk through the street of Pigneto in the evening found this very... A: This is not true for all the people who live in Pigneto. If you live in Pigneto it's normal, this situation. For the people who... M: OK, but it's not normal. It became normal because of them, but it's not normal. A: Yes, the bad reputation is the people who come to Pigneto, see this situation and say Pigneto is dirty and we have a... M: OK, but it's not, because this is every day. You walk through the street and everybody says Do you

xxxiv want cocaine? For you it's normal? Q: No, I mean, in some areas. A: All big cities have this situation. Madrid is... M: OK, it becomes normal when it happens every day. Q: I mean, it doesn't happen in Trastevere. M: We come from Sicily. Sicily is the first city of the mafia. But in a big town like Rome, for me it's not normal, just because it's every day. You can see the police and the immigrants in the same place. A: Yes, it is a big problem in Pigneto. And people talk about it on TV. M: For the family with a little child for example, in the night it is very difficult to walk in this street. Because it's a problem, they are scared. The families have fear of these problems for their children. Cause in Pigneto there are lots of schools, elementary schools et cetera. Q: But when did the drug dealers come here? M: About 10 years ago, because the flux of immigrants in Italy from 10 years ago to now is very very very important. The government in Italy and I think Europe can't control this movement. And the situation for the mafia et cetera is perfect for sale. G: So, if you want to buy drugs, you go out there. Q: Yeah... But do you think the drug dealers would be here without the bars? All: No. Q: So what do you like about Pigneto? M: For me in two words: underground movements. The new bands like his [Andrea's] band, who want to express their music or artists who want to express their creativity, for this, it's... if you look at the houses, you can see the graffiti, the posters... A: It's a little Kreuzberg, in Berlin. Like Kreuzberg in Berlin. Little, little, little Kreuzberg. Q: [laughs] Do you know Neukölln? It's more like Neukölln in my opinion, because Kreuzberg is over. A: Yes [laughs]. Q: And what do you not like? A: It's dirty and... it's dirty, dirty. M: Dirty. A: For the rest is OK. Q: And why did you move here? M: I lived with my ex-girlfriend in Colli Albani, 10 minutes away from Pigneto. I already worked here, so when we broke up I found an apartment here. A: I try to remember what is the reason... Ah, OK, after university I talked with my teacher and I told her that I was searching a new house with my girlfriend and she said I have a friend who rents a monolocale [a studio] in Pigneto, if you want you can see it. And I knew Pigneto, because of pubs and so on, and I said OK. And I started to live with my girlfriend in Pigneto. And after six months I started to work in the communication agency two minutes from my house, in the same square. And I love Pigneto for this, because I get up and go to work in one minute. And another good reason to live in Pigneto, if you have a dog, you can stay with your dog... friendly, friendly, the people are friendly with dogs. You can eat something and the dog can stay near. Q: Yeah, there are so many dogs here, I saw that. So you were happy to move to Pigneto, cause you knew it before? A: Yeah. M: OK, I wanted to live here very much because it's a good place for creativity, for music, for pubs. And it was also cheap for me. Q: Do you think Pigneto is changing? A: Yes, every day changing. Because the people start activities, like restaurants or new pubs, new vinyl shops... The problem is the same, but the people start to know Pigneto. In the weekend many people come here for nightlife. Q: When you moved here, were there less people going out? A: Yes, more people come now. Q: So it gets more popular? A: Yes, because every day a new activity is born. M: A lot of people who live in Pigneto come from the south of Italy for work. Because Rome is a big city

xxxv like Milan, Florence, the big cities of Italy there is most influence of southern people for work. And Pigneto for everybody who wants to study graphic design and music et cetera is a good place. A: There is a network of people. Many artists live in Pigneto and also San Lorenzo. Q: Are there changes that you don't like? A: I don't see a bad change. The problem is the same, immigration, dirt... These problems don't change. M: Yeah, the change is every day. But there are some difficulties for the same problems. But the change... if you live here, you can see this change every day. In the thinking of the people. In the mood of thinking. But the problems are the same. A: And now the metro opened, big event. Big event, because the work started 10 years ago and every year they said Now the metro opens. Q: Do you think the metro is influencing Pigneto? A: Now no, because it's a little line. It's good for the people who go to east Rome, you can use the metro for Centocelle and... But for the people who go to Termini [the main station in the centre] it's not good because it stops. M: This line of the metro is open for around 5 months, 6 months, it's the newest metro of Rome. A: But the work started 10 years ago. Q: And I know that soon it will connect to San Giovanni, right? And then it will connect to the metro network. Do you think that would change Pigneto, do you think more people will come to Pigneto? A: Probably, yes. M: The metro for me is a good idea, because you can move here without difficulties and when the people move the changes are faster. Q: So do you think Pigneto might get more expensive in the future? A: I think yes. Cause the places, the apartments, the houses will get probably more expensive, with the metro and... M: I think not. A: 10 years ago it was less expensive. M: OK, if Pigneto becomes more expensive, the real culture of Pigneto will change. Pigneto is the Pigneto for this reason. Because it's a little country of history. It's different from the centre of the city. There is Pigneto, there is San Lorenzo, there is Centocelle, the little quarters, who are the history of the city, who are the history of Rome. Q: What does the word authentic mean to you? M: About us or about Pigneto? Q: First in general. M: Your question is not clear [laughs]. Q: OK [laughs]. Let's say, what is an authentic neighbourhood to you? Un quartiere autentico? M: Pigneto! A: Pigneto! Q: Yeah? M: Pigneto... uh, well, in my opinion an authentic neighbourhood is Monti, the only Monti, for me is the best. But Pigneto is very very authentic. Pigneto and Monti. Q: So Monti is less authentic than Pigneto? A: No. M: No, they are different. Pigneto is most folkoristic, Monti is most... A: For rich people! M: No rich people... A: Yes, for rich people. M: No, OK... A: One coffee, 2€! M: Is more rich than Pigneto, OK, but for me is the centre of the future mind. Q: The...? M: The future mind, Monti for me is the centre of the future mind, you understand? Innovation. The centre of all the innovation for me. Pigneto is most authentic for people. Q: Yeah. So if you say Pigneto is authentic, why? M: Because it's very historical. More generations of Roman people live here for lots of years. If you see

xxxvi them, you can visit their Romanità. Romanità is... G: Roman lifestyle. M: Roman character, OK. A: You can live with Roman character in Pigneto. Q: More than in Monti? M: Well, I love Monti [laughs]. A: It's different, it's a different lifestyle. In Pigneto the people live in the street. M: It's most popular. Most... A: Folk! Folkloristic. M: Monti is more expensive, more progressive. Q: So you think the Romanità makes Pigneto a good place to live? All: Yeah. Q: You don't have to say it if you don't think so, you can disagree [laughs]. G: It's not the best, the most popular place. Garbatella, you know Garbatella? M: It's the centre of Romanità. G: It's folkloristic. Because it's a historical place. Pigneto is meno antico... Less old. Q: And you said the graffiti for example and the dirt... You think it's typical for Pigneto? A: The street art? Q: Yeah. A: The street art, yes. M: There are also other areas like Ostiense... Do you know blu? [An Italian graffiti artist] Q: Yeah. M: OK, there is a most important graffiti of blu and other artists like c215, Alice Pasquini, do you know? Q: No. M: OK. They are Italian-French artists, very important like blu. Well, blu is most important. And Ostiense is a cool zone, San Lorenzo is a cool zone with graffiti. In various places you can see the graffiti. Rome and Milan are very good for this street art. Q: So can you say just a few words do describe Pigneto? A: Cool. Q: Cool? A: Cool, yes. Q: That's it? A: That's it, cool. G: Dirty, cool and uh... full of drugs. M: Underground, creativity and B.M.C. [Andrea's band] [everybody laughs]. [At this point of the interview, Andrea had to leave.] Q: So do you think this bar is typical in Pigneto? M: Yeah, yeah. It's typical. Q: Why? M: Why? Because it's not expensive, cause the ingredients are very good and natural, it's not McDonald's for example [laughs] and because there are a lot of offices in the area and a lot of people come here because it's not expensive and very good. Q: And also from the look of it? M: Yeah, it's very typical, it's very vintage and there are a lot of chairs and tables from the 70s. The houses in Rome from about the 70s and 80s were with this furniture. So vintage and so typical of Romans. Q: And what are other typical places in Pigneto for you, like this bar? G: Necci. M: Necci and other pubs near Necci. Bottiglieria, Na Cosetta...there are a lot of pubs in the zone near Via del Pigneto, near Necci and where we work. If you want, when we finish we can go to the street where we work and you can see. It's very close to the centre of Pigneto. Q: Sure, that sounds good. Another question, how would it be for you if Pigneto would change a lot? M: OK... with better transport, for example? Now there is a new metro and this is a good thing. The commerce of drugs in the street for me is not a good thing because Pigneto is inhabited by a lot of

xxxvii families. And for children it's not a good thing. So... but for the rest, there are lot of pubs, a lot of good music, good restaurants and for me it's OK. Just a little thing for improving the quarter... Q: So to improve it, what would you do? M: For example the different... paper on paper, plastic on plastic... Q: Recycling? M: Yes. This is a good thing for me. And a lot of people don't try this. And I do. I don't buy drugs in the street [laughs]. I frequent a lot of pubs because I love this music and I think this is a good thing for Pigneto, for a creative zone like Pigneto. Q: And for you? G: For me it's the same, but I don't live here, so it's difficult. But we try to make it better. So we don't buy drugs from the dealers, we try to throw our trash in the right trash and we try to talk to the people of Pigneto. We try to respect the quality of living in Pigneto. And when we talk to other people, they think Pigneto is only dirty and nothing for living, we try to say that there is a lot of spaces to work, a lot of offices. So this. Q: So you try to improve the reputation? G: Yeah. [We walked to another bar called Yeah! in Via Giovanni de Agostini. My first interview partner, Valentino, had showed me the same bar as a typical Pigneto place.] Q: So why did you want to show me this bar? M: In this place, many people are in the evening, Andrea plays music with the vinyl from the 60s and 70s, people have a beer, a drink... The furniture is really typical, vintage and you see the graffiti on the wall. Is a good place. Q: And how would you... let's say in Pigneto they would renew all the buildings, they would clean all the dirt, the drug dealers would be gone and there would be a lot of shops, like, I don't know, H&M. M: This is a problem of Rome in general and I think it's a city for all big cities. For example Italy was very famous for handmade things. And with this big shops like H&M or McDonald's or Nike, whatever you want, this handmade is down... is gone. And it's not good for the economy of this state. Now we talk about Rome, but in general it's a problem of whole Italy. Q: But how would you feel if it would happen in Pigneto? M: I think the government could spend a lot of money for the little commercial activities. For example it could be investment money for local offices and handmade products and for parks. Because there are a lot of parks, but the conditions are not very good. Q: And would you like Pigneto more if it would be clean and drug-free? M: Well... I wish there was more consciousness about the town where you live. More respect for the town where you live and more respect for the traditions of people, of historical traditions. This. More respect. Q: So you think there's not enough respect here? M: No! But we can do better. The respect can be better. Q: You mean, if you do recycling for example? M: Yeah. Because for example, when I visit Amsterdam or I visit Budapest, I see recycling is inside the culture of the people. In Italy it's not good. Recycling for me is one of the most important discussions of all the world. And in the culture of Italians, it is not. Q: And if you say more respect for traditions, do you think Pigneto is traditional? M: Yes. Because in Pigneto you can find, for example, the typical traditional things, like for example the food, like the Coppiette that we give you to eat. The style is preserved from the Rome of 70, 80 years ago. So, yes. I think Pigneto is a little centre where you can find the history of the nation. For me preserving this is very important. For us and for the next generations it is very important. Q: And why do you think Pigneto became so creative? M: Because there are a lot of people who work in the creative industry. Q: But why did they come here? M: In this moment there are a lot of offices and if I want to work in the creativity I can stay here, because there are a lot of people who do that here. But it's not a thing of Pigneto, San Lorenzo or also the centre, Trastevere or Colosseum zone... For me, creativity is a good thing for everybody. And I speak about Pigneto because we are here and I know here there are a lot of offices. But it can be the same

xxxviii thing in another zone. Q: And also all the pubs and the music, why do you think it came here? Cause it wasn't a going out area 20 years ago. G: You know, maybe for the people Pigneto is a place where the pubs stay open all night long and the typical young style is, so maybe for this type or concept the people try to open up a pub or work in creativity here. Q: Do you think also because of the bad reputation? G: No, not the bad reputation. The style, the young style... the cool style. It's here, it isn't in the centre

Interview 3: Nina 27, from Frankfurt am Main (Germany), PhD candidate at an archaeological institute. Lives in Rome since August 2015 and rents a room in a shared apartment in Pigneto since three months.

Q: Während wir hier so laufen kannst du mir gerne schon erzählen, was du so typisch Pigneto findest, wenn du was siehst. While we are walking you can already tell me what you consider typical for Pigneto. A: Ja gut, es ist halt so... Hier ist vielleicht eher der Teil mit den hässlichen Wohnbauten, die so relativ flott hochgezogen wurden oder sowas. Aber dann ist das hier vielleicht ein ganz gutes Beispiel, auf der anderen Seite ist dann so ein Teil, der so dörflich aussieht. Also ziemlich gegensätzlich oder ja, ich find halt so nebeneinander Dorf, dann schnell, wir brauchen jetzt Wohnbauten!, so ein bisschen. Das find ich irgendwie ganz spannend, weil, also ich weiß jetzt nicht, das weißt du wahrscheinlich besser, ich weiß jetzt nicht wie lange es Pigneto jetzt schon so gibt, aber ich hab halt immer gedacht, das ist halt irgendwann auch so in die Stadt reingewachsen oder das ist so umschlossen worden davon, dadurch ist dann so n Viertel entstanden. Das find ich halt ganz cool, wenn man dann halt hier sieht, dass es ursprünglich, ja, bisschen außerhalb von Rom lag vielleicht, und es einfach noch mehr Platz gab und dann diese verwinkelten Straßen und so, das find ich halt ganz nett. Well, it's like that. Maybe this is the part with the ugly residential buildings that were built fast or something. But maybe this is a good example, on the other side there is a part that looks rural. So it's pretty contrasting or yes, I think it's like there is a village and then fast, we need residential buildings now!, a bit like that. I think that's quite fascinating, because, well I don't know, you probably know more about that, I don't know since when Pigneto exists, but I always thought that it at some point grew into the city or was embraced by it, because of that a quarter like this emerged. I think it's quite cool when you can see here that it originally was a bit outside of Rome and there was maybe still more space and then these winding streets, I think that's quite nice. Q: Ich find das in der Via del Pigneto ganz interessant, kennst du die? I think it's interesting in Via del Pigneto, do you know it? A: Ja, also einige Abschnitte davon, jetzt nicht alle. Yes, well some parts of it, not all of them. Q: Ich lauf halt ständig einmal durch die gesamte Via del Pigneto und die Straße ist teils ne richtige Straße, teilweise so kleine Schleichwege und sowas, du merkst halt total, dass die Infrastruktur nicht geplant ist, total chaotisch. I often walk through the entire Via del Pigneto and the street is partly a proper street, partly small alleys, you totally see that the infrastructure wasn't planned, totally chaotic. A: Ja, stimmt [lacht]. Yes, true [laughs]. Q: Und warum bist du hierher gezogen? When did you move here? A: Gut, das hatte einmal den praktischen Grund, dass viele meiner Kollegen, also von den jüngeren vor allem, auch in meiner Position sozusagen, hier wohnen, aber noch n ganzes Stück weg, und die mir das Viertel halt empfohlen haben, mich da umzuschauen. Und, ja gut, dann hab ich die Wohnung über nen Freund bekommen. Und die hat mir halt am besten gefallen von dem, was ich mir angeschaut hatte. Well, for once it had the practical reason that many of my colleagues, the younger ones who are in my position, live here, but still quite a long way from here, and they recommended the quarter to me, for me

xxxix to look around. And well, then I got the apartment over a friend. And I liked that one best from the ones I looked at. Q: Wohnst du alleine? Do you live alone? A: Ja, das ist eigentlich ne WG, aber das eine Zimmer ist frei. So wie das häufig hier ist, bevor die jemanden reinholen, den sie nicht kennen, lassen sie es halt. Mein Vermieter hatte mal Probleme mit Mietern und dann war ihm das zu stressig. Deshalb ist das zweite Zimmer leer. Ich fänd es aber ganz schön, mit italienischen Leuten zusammenzuleben, um mein Italienisch zu verbessern. Das hier ist übrigens ne sehr gute Hostaria, Qui Se Magna!, da gibt es sehr römisches Essen, das ist auch sehr typisch. Yes, actually it's a shared apartment, but the other room is free. It's like that here frequently, before they take in someone whom they don't know, they leave it like that. My landlord had problems with renters and it was too stressful for him. So the second room is empty. But I would like to live with Italians to improve my Italian. This by the way is a good osteria, Qui Se Magna!, they serve very Roman food, that is also typical. Q: Typisch Pigneto? Typical for Pigneto? A: Ja. Und günstig. Yes. And cheap. Q: Ah OK, ja da ist es immer voll hab ich gesehen. Ah OK, I saw that it's also always full. A: Ja, ist es tatsächlich. Da gehen auch hauptsächlich Italiener hin glaub ich. Yes, it is indeed. And mainly Italians go there I think. Q: Und du meintest deine Kollegen haben Pigneto empfohlen hier? And you said your colleagues recommended Pigneto? A: Ja, also vor allem weil man halt den Anschluss an den trenino hat ist das halt sehr gut. Und es ist ja noch teilweise günstig, hier kann man ja auch abends n bisschen was machen, also gerade weiter oben gibt es ja einige Bars und vor allem da wo ich jetzt wohne ist es halt total perfekt was auch Supermärkte und sowas angeht. Ich hab da sogar nen Drogeriemarkt, also was ja ne absolute Seltenheit hier in Rom ist oder überhaupt in Italien, das gibt's ja fast gar nicht. Das ist wirklich toll, also es ist bisschen teurer als das was man so gewohnt ist vom DM oder Rossmann in mancherlei Hinsicht, in mancherlei Hinsicht genau das gleiche. Und ich weiß nicht, in Deutschland ist man so an diese Drogeriemärkte gewöhnt, oder? Yes, mainly cause it's connected to the trenino, that's very good. And it's still cheap more or less, you can do something in the evening here, further at the top there are many bars and where I live now it's absolutely perfect with supermarkets and things like that. There is even a drugstore, which is a rarity in Rome or in whole Italy, they almost don't have that. That's really great, I mean it's a bit more expensive than what you are used to from DM or Rossmann [German drugstores] in some ways, I other ways exactly the same. And I don't know, in Germay you are so used to drugstores, right? Q: Jaja. Yes, yes. A: Und hier ist es halt so: das gibt's nicht. Also entweder gehst du halt quasi zum Kiosk, die so alles haben, oder halt in die Supermärkte, so es halt, naja, nicht so toll ist. Also das ist total perfekt die Wohnung von daher, also Anbindung, Verpflegung, es gibt sogar ein günstiges Fitnessstudio, wo ich genau wie in Deutschland nur 20€ im Monat zahle, was auch ne Seltenheit ist, das sind ja sonst alles solche Luxusthermaltempel [lacht]. Ich kann mir halt nicht leisten 60€ auszugeben für n Fitnessstudio. Also ja, das ist auf jeden Fall ziemlich gut. Und obwohl es halt so weit außen ist ist es halt gut mit dem trenino in die Stadt zu kommen. Und selbst nachts kommt man irgendwie immer noch nach hause, weil es fahren ja auch genug Nachtbusse dahin. Hier soll man ganz gut Aperitif machen können [Bestia Mora]. And here it's like that: they don't exist. You either go to the kiosk which have everything or to the supermarkets, which are not that great. So in that way the apartment is totally perfect, connection, supplies, there even is a cheap gym where I pay 20€ just like in Germany, which also is a rarity, they are usually kind of luxury thermal temples [laughs]. I can't afford spending 60€ for a gym. So that is really

xl good, in any case. And while it is quite far off you can still get to the city with the trenino. Even at night you still get home, because enough night buses are going. Here you're supposed to get a good aperitif [at Bestia Mora]. Q: Ach ja, echt? Ich war da nur mal für n Bier. Oh, really? I only have been here for a beer. A: Ah, war das nett? Oh, was it nice? Q: Ja, da war so n Konzert von so ner Countryband. Yeah, there was a country concert. A: Oh, cool. Oh, cool. Q: Und du hast schon vorher in Rom gewohnt? Did you live in Rome before you moved here? A: Ja, aber ich hab in der Via Nomentana an der Piazzale Porte Pia gewohnt und da halt im Gästehaus vom Institut. Da kann man die ersten sechs Monate, wenn man den Vertrag hat, darf man da wohnen. Und ja, das ist ja was ganz anderes, weil das ist eigentlich so ne kleine Villengegend eher, also so kleine Palazzi und so weiter, halt auch supernett, aber da war mir das oft irgendwie auch zu ausgestorben. Also obwohl ich jetzt gegenüber von nem Krankenhaus wohne, bzw da hatte ich auch vorher das Policlinico, ich weiß nicht ob du das kennst, das ist halt auch Krankenwägen die ganze Zeit. Aber ja, da war's mir irgendwie zu ruhig. Wir können ja noch so n Stück weiterlaufen? Yes, but I lived in Via Nomentana at the Piazzale Porte Pia and in the guest house of the institute. You can live there the first six months when you get your contract. And yes, that is something completely different, because it is actually a little neighbourhood of mansions, so with little palazzi and stuff, also super nice, but it was often too died out for me. Despite living in front of a hospital now, actually at my old house there was also a hospital, the Politecnico, don't know of you know it, and there were also ambulances all the time. But yes, it was somehow too quiet for me. We could walk a bit further? Q: Klar. Also, du wolltest da auch weg? Sure. So you wanted to leave? A: Ja, ich wollte da definitiv weg. Das ist zwar sehr schön, da vor allem die Via Alessandria, da gibt's auch so ne kleine Markthalle und so weiter, aber ich weiß nicht, mich nervt es dann halt schon, wenn ich eh nicht viel Zeit hab und ich muss dann immer noch 15min oder ne halbe Stunde zum Supermakt laufen. Und dann schleppst du so das ganze Zeug zuhause und ja, mir war das da überhaupt auch ein bisschen zu schick und zu ruhig und da ist Pigneto doch irgendwie wesentlich belebter, da ist mehr los. Zum Beispiel das find ich schön hier. Yes, I definitely wanted to leave. It's very beautiful there, especially Via Alessandria, there is also a small market hall and so on, but I don't know, it's annoying to me if I don't have a lot of time to walk 15min or half an hour to the supermarket. And then you carry all the stuff home and yes, it was generally a bit too posh and quiet, Pigneto is kind of a lot more vivid, there is more going on. This for example is beautiful. Q: Das Haus? The house? A: Ja, die versteckten Gärten irgendwie so dahinter. Bisschen, obwohl ich glaub das ist verlassen, aber das nächste Haus ist schon wieder richtig schön. Mit diesen Gärten davor und diesen altern Mauern. Da fühlt man sich als wäre man überhaupt nicht mehr in der Stadt. Yes, the hidden gardens behind. A bit, even though I think this one is deserted, but the next house is very beautiful. With these gardens in front and these old walls. It feels as if you're not even in the city anymore. Q: Als du hergezogen bist, was war so dein erster Eindruck? Oder warst du vorher schon mal hier? When you moved here, what was your first impression? Or had you been here before? A: Gut, ich hab mir halt einmal die Wohnung angeschaut und war dann halt hier mal bei den Kollegen und hab die besucht. Ja, also, das war halt auch so der Eindruck: ziemlich belebt, ziemlich multikulturell auf jeden Fall und ja. Von daher eben ein krasser Gegensatz zu wo ich vorher gewohnt hab. Well, I had looked at the apartment and had visited my colleagues. Yes, so, that was also my first impression: pretty vivid, pretty multicultural in any case and yes. Because of that a crass contrast to where I lived before.

xli Q: Aber hat dir gefallen? But you liked it? A: Ja, es war genau das, was ich gut fand. Yeah, that was exactly what I liked. Q: Gibt's Sachen, die du hier nicht magst? Are there things that you don't like? A: Ähm, hm. Naja gut, manchmal ist es halt auch bisschen nervig, dass es so weit draußen ist. Oh, war ich hier schon mal? Uhm. Well OK, sometimes it's also a bit annoying that it's so far off. Oh, have I been here before? Q: Das ist auch noch die Via del Pigneto. This is still Via del Pigneto. A: Ach ja, natürlich. Die fängt ja bei der Acqua Bullicante ganz klein an, oder? Ah yes, of course. It starts at Acqua Bullicante as a small street, right? Q: Genau. Und geht dann auch hoch bis zu der Schnellstraße und diesen furchtbaren Brücken. Exactly. And it ends at the highway and these awful brides. A: Ah ja, das ist echt fies da. Das ist zum Beispiel nicht so schön [lacht]. Ja gut, also manche Ecken da so in die Richtung meide ich auch. Also ja, manche Ecken sind halt tatsächlich nicht so schön. Das stimmt schon. Ah yes, it's truly nasty there. That is not very beautiful for example [laughs]. Well, so some corners in that direction I avoid. So yes, some corners are indeed not so beautiful. That's true. Q: Manche Ecken, zum Beispiel? Some corners, for example? A: Zum Beispiel... Ich muss auch sagen, ich fühl mich manchmal auf dem Weg hierher, also gerade so Porta Maggiore, manchmal nicht so wohl, je nach dem zu welcher Uhrzeit, da will ich auch so schnell wie möglich wieder weg. Gerade wenn man halt alleine ist, also ich hab jetzt nicht so wirklich Angst, aber es ist... Ich hab ja auch jahrelang in Frankfurt gewohnt und da treibt man sich nicht abends alleine am Bahnhof mit den Junkies unbedingt rum. Mir macht es nicht so viel aus, aber eine Deutsche, die mit mir arbeitet, hat hier gewohnt und fand es ganz schlimm. Die hat mir halt erzählt, dass sie sich abends nicht auf die Straße getraut hat alleine und immer Angst hatte. For example... I have to say, sometimes on the way here, especially around Porta Maggiore, I don't feel so at ease, depending on what time it is, I want to leave there as fast as possible. Especially when you're alone, I mean I'm not really scared, but it's... I lived in Frankfurt for years and there you don't hang out at the main station with the junkies during the night alone. It doesn't bother me so much, but one German who works with me used to live here and found it terrible. She told me that she didn't dare to go on the street alone in the evening and was always scared. Q: Und die ist dann wieder weggezogen? And then she moved away? A: Ja, die ist dann, die hat hier auch nur ein paar Monate gewohnt, vier Monate oder so. Also, aber ich fühl mich schon meistens sicher, aber man ist ja auch nicht blöd und läuft komplett unvorsichtig rum, man passt halt auf. Yes, she did then, she only lived here for a few months, four months or so. So, but I feel safe most of the time, but also you're not stupid and walk around all carelessly, you stay attentive. Q: Du hast schon was dazu gesagt, aber vielleicht kannst du nochmal gezielt sagen, was du magst an Pigneto? You said something about it already, but maybe you can tell me again what you like about Pigneto specifically? A: Ich mag die Gegensätzlichkeit, ich mag auch, dass es so weit ab ist vom Zentrum, dass es so unaufgeräumt ist und lebhaft, dass man einfach alles hat, was man so braucht für den Alltag, dass man außerdem auch schnell in zwei sehr schönen Parks ist, also auch der bei der Prenestina, der ist auch sehr sehr schön, wo es natürlich auch wieder Archäologie gibt. Ja, dass man einfach Möglichkeiten hat, abends was zu machen, auch abgesehen von der Via del Pigneto, von diesem Teil dort. Vor allem, dass es hier so lebhaft und kulturell so gemischt ist. Und dass man hier halt noch so das alltägliche Leben mitbekommt und selber leben kann. I like the contrasts, I also like that it is so far off the centre, that it is so untidy and vivid, that you have

xlii everything that you need for the daily life, that you also get to two beautiful parks quickly, also the one at the Prenestina, that one is also very beautiful, where of course there is also archaeology. Yes, that you simply have possibilities to do something in the evening, also apart from Via del Pigneto, that part there. Especially that it is so vivid here and culturally diverse. And that you just can witness this everyday life and live it yourself. Q: Was beinhaltet dieses alltägliche Leben für dich? What does this everyday life contain for you? A: Ja so normale Sachen, also einfach seinen Alltag zu gestalten oder auch irgendwie seine Freiseit. Also ich hab hier wie gesagt schon manchmal so n Spaziergang hin gemacht und mir hier einfach so n Panino geholt, weil ich es so lecker finde. Und ja, halt normale Sachen einfach irgendwie, einkaufen, Sport machen und sowas. Und bei meinem Lieblingskiosk, also das ist hier in Italien eigentlich nett, man lernt hier die Leute... also man ist hier dreimal dagewesen und dann kennt man die Leute und dann unterhält man sich mit denen, so gut es geht halt auf Italienisch natürlich, und dann hat man halt auch mehr das Gefühl, dass man hier auch ankommt. Well normal things, so arranging your everyday life and also in a way your leisure. Like I said, I already took walks to this place sometimes just to get a panino, because I think it's so tasty. And yes, just kind of normal things, shopping, doing sports and so on. And at my favorite kiosk, I like this here in Italy, you get to know the people... so you go somewhere three times and then you know the people and have a chat with them, as good as possible in Italian of course, and then you also feel more like you are welcome. Q: Glaubst du im Zentrum wäre das zum Beispiel nicht so? Do you think it would not be like this in the centre? A: Ja, also wir haben bei unserer Arbeit... wir sind ganz in der Nähe vom Vatikan, Piazza Cavour, und haben da natürlich unsere Stammcafébars, so zwei, und da gehen wir quasi immer abwechselnd hin und die kennen einen natürlich auch, also nach so zwei Wochen wissen die, wie du deinen Kaffee trinkst. Yes, well at our work... we are very close to the Vatican, Piazza Cavour, and of course we have our regular café bars, two of them, and we go there alternately and of course they also get to know you, so after two weeks they know how you take your coffee. Q: Findest du die Bar, in der wir jetzt sind, typisch für Pigneto? Do you think the bar where we are is typical for Pigneto? A: Ja, von dem was ich bisher kenne würde ich sagen, dass es typisch ist. Da ich noch nicht so viel kenne, ja, ich würde schon sagen. Oder es ist auf jeden Fall eine Sache, die mir an Pigneto gefällt. Yes, from the things that I know so far I would say it is typical. Since I don't know that much yet, yes, I would say so. Or it is in any case something that I like about Pigneto. Q: Inwiefern? In what ways? 17 ca A: Ja weil's eigentlich so n bisschen... ach, keine Ahnung, so n bisschen hip in Anführungszeichen auch ist und das Konzept find ich irgendwie ganz nett, so mit den regionalen Produkten, also es ist halt so bisschen was Junges und dann hast du auch wieder diese alteingesessenen Restaurants, also die so total typisch italienisch sind, es ist nicht besonders schön da drin, aber es gibt geiles Essen. Das ist hier natürlich bisschen stylisher, aber ich find nicht zu viel. Also ich würde das eher zu diesem etwas cooleren, hipperen Teil dazuzählen. Well because it's actually a bit... oh, I don't know, a bit hip so to say and I think this concept is nice, with regional products and it has something young and then you have these old fashioned restaurants, which are totally typically Italian, where it is not very beautiful but they have awesome food. This here is a bit more stylish but not too much. I would count it to the a bit cooler, hipper part of Pigneto. Q: Was glaubst du, wie sich Pigneto in Zukunft entwickeln wird? What do you think how Pigneto will develop in the future? A: Oh Gott. Ich denke da wo wir wohnen, Acqua Bullicante, wird es ja gerade auch so bisschen kommerzieller, weil da einfach noch n bisschen mehr Platz ist, für neue Läden und sowas, wie den neuen Lidl zum Beispiel. Oh god. I think where we live, Acqua Bullicante, is getting a bit more commercial right now, since there is a bit more space still, for new shops and stuff, like the new Lidl for example.

xliii Q: Ach, der ist neu? Oh, it's new? A: Ja, der hat erst vor paar Wochen aufgemacht. Und dann wieder zugemacht, weil die gar keine Baugenehmigung oder sowas hatten oder nur die Hälfte davon oder keine Ahnung, dann war der ne Woche zu und dann hat er wieder aufgemacht. Ähm, und da find ich da merkt man schon, dass man tatsächlich am Stadtrand ist, also dadurch dass da die ganzen größeren Läden auch noch hinpassen, ein Shoppingcentre oder sowas. Aber das ist dann ja auch wirklich ganz weit außen und dann kommt ja praktisch schon ganz viel Wiese oder nichts, Land auf einmal. Yes, it opened up a few weeks ago. And then it closed again, cause it actually didn't have a building permit or only half of it or no idea, then it was closed for a week and then it opened up again. Uhm, and I think from this you notice that you are actually at the edge of the city, because there is still space for all the bigger stores, a shopping mall and things like that. But that is really on the edge and then practically already grassland or nothing, it's suddenly countryside. Q: Die Felder find ich auch total interessant. The grassland is also very interesting to me. A: Ja genau, da zwischen der Bullicante und der Villa Sanctis, da wo auch das HeNinamausoleum steht, da ist echt ein total toller Park, da kann man super laufen gehen. Da ist halt einfach mal nichts, auch wenn man bei Google schaut, da ist halt einfach Wiese. Und da auf dem Stück ist dann auch, da an der Casilina, überhaupt an der Casilina, wenn man da mit dem trenino fährt, auf beiden Seiten oft noch so recht große Anwesen, ich glaub da ist auch ein Kloster dazwischen und so ein kleines Heiligtum außerhalb der Mauern, das ist total süß. Und ich mein, klar die Casilina ist eine der Hauptausfallstraßen aus Rom und da haben sich irgendwann diese größeren Anwesen mit den Villen und den Palazzi entwickelt und dann auf einmal kam so die Stadt. Also so stell ich mir das immer vor und da kann man ganz gut noch sehen, weil diese großen Palazzi passen da teilweise gar nicht so richtig zwischen. Vor allem dieses Kloster find ich spannend, da wollte ich auch immer mal aussteigen und gucken. Exactly, there between the Bullicante and Villa Sanctis, where there is also the HeNina mausoleum, there's a really great park, it's super for running. There is simply nothing, there at the Casilina, generally at the Casilina, if you go along there with the trenino, on both sides often quite big estates, I think there's an abbey in between and a little sanctuary outside the walls, it's really cute. And I mean, obviously, the Casilina is one of the main roads out of Rome and at some point these bigger estates with the mansions and the palazzi emerged and then suddenly the city came. That's how I imagine it and then you can see pretty well that these bigger palazzi sometimes don't quite fit in. Especially this abbey is interesting to me, I always wanted to exit there and go have a look. Q: Also du fährst auch weiter raus mit dem trenino? So you also go outside the city with the trenino? A: Hab ich noch nicht gemacht, aber ich lauf dann halt ein Stück weiter zu dem Park und da ist dann halt wirklich nix mehr so. Dazwischen dann halt irgendwelche Wiesen. Wie sich das entwickelt... Ich kann mir vorstellen, dass noch mehr Studenten und sowas hinkommen, dadurch dass es halt so nah an San Lorenzo ist, aber ansonsten. Dazu hab ich mir noch nicht so viele Gedanken gemacht. I didn't yet, but I walk a bit down to the park and then there is really nothing. In between some grassland. How it develops... I can imagine that even more students and such will come, because it is so close to San Lorenzo, but other than that. I haven't thought about that yet. Q: Weißt du, wie es hier vor 20 Jahren war? Do you know what it was like here 20 years ago? A: Naja, ich wollte halt auch immer mal gucken, ob man im Internet mehr zur Geschichte rausfindet, hab's aber immer wieder vergessen. Aber jetzt mach ich das glaub ich mal, dadurch dass mich das auch selber interessiert. Well, I always wanted to have a look if you can find out more about the history on the internet, but I kept on forgetting about it. But I think now I will do it, since I'm also interested in it. Q: Ich kann dir gerne bisschen was erzählen drüber nachher. Was ist so der Unterschied für dich von Pigneto zu Trastevere zum Beispiel? I can also tell you something about it later. What is for you the difference from Pigneto to Trastevere for example?

xliv A: Trastevere ist halt wesentlich touristischer und da ist halt alles so konzentriert auf kleinem Raum, was ja auch ganz nett ist, aber manchmal hab ich da auch nicht so Lust zu, auch wegen der ganzen Touristen. Das klingt so böse von mir, aber irgendwie ist man da manchmal im Alltag so bisschen... also irgendwann hat man das einfach so bisschen über, glaub ich, da muss man Lust zu haben. Ja, und das ist halt hier bisschen weitläufiger noch als dort. Es ist noch ein bisschen ursprünglicher. Nicht so von Touristen überlaufen und nicht alles so konzentriert, man kann von Bar von Bar gehen mit bisschen Platz dazwischen. Mal abgesehen von dem Via del Pigneto-Teil, der halt irgendwie so ein Abschnitt ist, den ich nicht so mag, weil da alles gleich aussieht und jede Bar das gleiche ist. Aber Pigneto ist insgesamt irgendwie so gegensätzlich auf kleinem Raum. Da wo wir jetzt sitzen ist es so ein bisschen ursprünglicher und ne Straße weiter sind dann wieder diese Blockbauten sozusagen, diese hässlichen eigentlich, aber trotzdem ist es halt nett da zu wohnen, glaub ich. Trastevere is a lot more touristic and everything is very concentrated on little space, which is also nice, but sometimes I don't feel like that, also because of all the tourists. It sounds so mean of me, but in your everyday life you sometimes are... well sometimes you are a bit over it I think, you have to be in the right mood for it. Yes, and here it is still a bit more spacious than there. It's a bit more original. Not so overrun by tourists and not so concentrated, you can go from bar to bar with a bit of space in between. Except from the Via del Pigneto part [the pedestrian zone], which is a section that I kind of don't like to much, because it all looks the same and every bar is the same. But Pigneto is overall kind of contrary on little space. Where we are sitting not it is a bit more original and a street further you have these apartment blocks, so to say, the ugly ones actually, but still I believe it is nice to live there. Q: Also das sind für dich die zwei Seiten? So those are the two sides for you? A: Ja, also so... würde ich schon sagen, so ganz grob. Ich mag's halt hier irgendwie auch, dass es nicht ganz so, ja, aufgeräumt ist und schick, sowas. Also wie gesagt vorher in dem Viertel... Ich mein, aufgeräumt hier in Italien ist auch nochmal was anderes als aufgeräumt in Deutschland, aber man kann hier auch nicht davon ausgehen, dass die Seitenwege keine riesigen Löcher haben oder sowas [lacht], halt ganz ganz anders und so steril, das ist es hier halt gar nicht. Zumindest hab ich noch keine Ecke entdeckt, bei der ich dachte Oh Gott, jetzt bin ich aber nicht mehr in Pigneto, sondern zurück in der Via Nomentana oder so. Yes, well... I would say so, roughly. I also like somehow that it is not so, yes, tidy and posh and so on. So like I said, in my old quarter... I mean, tidy in Italy is also something different than tidy in Germany, but here you cannot expect that the sidewalks don't have huge holes and things like that [laughs], so totally different and sterile, here it is not like that at all. At least I haven't discovered corners about which I thought Oh god, now I'm not in Pigneto anymore, I'm back at Via Nomentana or something. Q: Wie zeigt sich das für dich, diese Nichtsterilität? How does this non-sterility show for you? A: Ich weiß nicht, ähm, es gibt hier teilweise keine richtigen Fußwege, es ist mehr so gassenmäßig, klar, Graffiti hat man sowieso überall, es ist ein bisschen, ich weiß nicht, unordentlich halt. I don't know, uhm, partly there are no real sidewalks, it's more like little alleys, obviously there is graffiti everywhere and it is a bit, I don't know, untidy. Q: Aber du magst das? But you like it? A: Ja. Yes. [A German woman asks us if the café is with self service.] Q: Man sieht schon manchmal auch Touristen. You do sometimes see tourists in fact. A: Ja, ich hab auch neulich ein paar verwirrten Amerikanern geholfen, die richtige Haltestelle zu finden. Aber ja, ich mein so ein paar Hotels und sowas gibt’s ja auch. Touristen sind ja auch nix schlimmes, ich will das nochmal festhalten [lacht]. Yes, recently I helped some confused Americans to find the right station. But yes, I mean there are also a few hotels and things like that. Tourists are also nothing bad, I want to state that again [laughs]. Q: Ja [lacht], so hab ich das auch nicht gemeint! Ich seh das auch wie du, es wird halt schnell anstrengend.

xlv Yes [laughs], I didn't mean it like that! I agree with you, it just gets exhausting quickly. A: Ja, es ist halt schade, weil in Trastevere gibt es ja wirklich schöne Sachen. Aber meistens ist ja dann auch so, man hat ja dann auch Glück, das ist ja genauso im Centro, wenn du einfach nur eine Gasse weitergehst, dann ist es da auf einmal viel ruhiger, es ist günstiger und es ist dann halt auch viel römischer sozusagen, oder, ja, ursprünglicher als das, was man aus diesen Hauptecken kennt. Yes, it's just a pity cause in Trastevere there are really beautiful things. But most of the times it's also like that and you are lucky, it's the same in the Centro, if you go one alleyway further it's suddenly much more quiet, it's cheaper and it is more Roman so to say, or yes, more original than what you know from these main corners. Q: Und du findest, das ist hier ein sehr römisches Viertel? And you think this here is a very Roman neighbourhood? A: Naja, dadurch dass es so multikulturell ist auch irgendwie schon wieder nicht, ich mein so ist das halt irgendwie in Städten, da kommt dann halt alles zusammen. So hier so im Innenbereich find ich das schon... italienisch sozusagen, ziemlich italienisch. Und römisch halt wenn man sich die Restaurants anschaut zumindest, so ganz ursprünglich, so ganz schlichte, einfache Sachen, was halt auch meistens das Beste ist. Ich mein, der Kaffee in so schicken Bars schmeckt nicht, zum Beispiel, da geht man eher in die, die nicht so wunderschön aussehen. Well, since it is so multicultural it kind of isn't, I mean, it just is like that in cities, everything comes together. Here in the inner area I do think it is... Italian so to say, pretty Italian. And Roman if you look at the restaurants at least, very original, very plain, simple things, which are most of the time the best. I mean, the coffee in the fancy bars isn't tasty, for example, you rather go to one that is not very beautiful. Q: Wie wäre es für dich, wenn Pigneto sich komplett verändern würde? Also, sagen wir mal, der ganze Schmutz wäre weg und... How would it be for you if Pigneto would change completely? So let's say, all the dirt was gone and... A: …wenn alles schick wäre? Na, dann ist es auf jeden Fall nicht mehr das, weshalb es mir hier so gut gefallen hat, als ich hergekommen bin. Weiß nicht, ob man deswegen wegziehen würde, aber dann hätte ich zumindest auch nicht mehr so Lust, hier mehr kennenzulernen. Dann wäre ich vielleicht etwas ernüchtert, fänd ich schade. ...if everything would be fancy? Well, then in any case wouldn't be anymore what I liked so much about it when I came here. Don't know if you would move because of that but at least I wouldn't be so interested anymore to get to know more here. Then I maybe would be a bit disillusioned, it would be a pity. Q: Wo würdest du noch hinziehen in Rom? Where else would you move in Rome? A: Also ich find San Lorenzo auch ganz nett. Wenn man so preislich überlegt, wo man sich das noch leisten kann... ja. San Lorenzo, eher so. Paar andere Viertel kenn ich auch noch nicht so gut, ich mein Prati kann man sich eh nicht leisten und da ist es dann halt auch wieder so schick. I think San Lorenzo is also pretty nice. If you think about prices, where else you could afford it... yes. San Lorenzo, like that. A few other neighbourhoods I don't know that well yet, I mean Prati you cannot afford anyway and there it is also very posh again. Q: Ich würde gerne nach Monti ziehen. I would love to move to Monti. A: Ja, Monti, genau. Das ist richtig schön dort und da gibt es coole Secondhandläden. Die hab ich hier noch nicht entdeckt. Yes, Monti, exactly. It is truly beautiful there and they have cool second hand shops. I didn't discover those here yet. Q: Stimmt, fehlt noch. Naja, ist ja auch wahnsinnig teuer in Monti, glaub ich. True, they're still missing. Well, it's also insanely pricey in Monti, I think. A: Ja, ich glaub auch. Ich zahl jetzt hier nen Freundschaftspreis, einen Festpreis mit allem für 450€ und die Wohnung ist riesig, eigentlich viel zu groß für mich. Trotzdem, dafür dass man hier eigentlich so weit außen lebt zahlt man trotzdem ziemlich viel, find ich. Yes, I believe so. I'm paying a special friendship price here, a fixed price with everything for 450€ and the apartment is huge, actually way too big for me. Still, for living so far outside you still pay a lot, I think. Q: Ja, ich denke die Preise haben sich auch entwickelt. Ich hab mit Leuten gesprochen, die hier schon lange leben und die meinten, man würde hier vielleicht 200€ für ein Zimmer zahlen, ich denk mehr als

xlvi 400€ sind aber mittlerweile eher Durchschnitt. Yes, I think the prices also developed. I talked to people who have been living here for a long time and they said you would pay maybe 200€ for a room. I think more than 400€ are more like the average by now. A: Ja, ich glaube mit unter 500€ kommt man noch gut weg. Yes, I think with under 500€ you're still well off. Q: Was macht Pigneto für dich aus, in ein paar Worten? What defines Pigneto for you, in a few words? A: Also, Pigneto macht für mich aus, dass es ein Mix aus Dorf und trotzdem Stadt ist und dass es nicht so schick und aufgeräumt ist. Ja. Well, Pigneto defines that it is a mix of village and nevertheless city and that it is not that as posh and tidy. Yeah. Q: Eine Frage noch, was bedeute das Wort authentisch für dich? One for question, what does the word authentic mean to you? A: Authentisch... also, ehrlich, muss ja jetzt nicht unbedingt ne Person sein, kann ja zum Beispiel auch ne Gegend sein. Ähm, ursprünglich vielleicht, nicht aufgesetzt, nicht zu schick oder zu modern oder zu aufgeräumt, ich weiß nicht. Authentic... well, honest, which doesn't have to be a person, also for example an area. Uhm, original maybe, not stilted, not too posh or too modern or too tidy, I don't know. Q: Also im Bezug auf n Stadtviertel dann, was du jetzt gesagt hast? So referring to a neighbourhood, what you just said? A: Ja. Yes. Q: OK. Und würdest du Pigneto als authentisch bezeichnen? OK. And would you describe Pigneto as authentic? A: Ich glaub dann würde ich das schon als authentisch bezeichnen, ja. Auf der anderen Seite ist jetzt sowas wie Prati, was halt vollkommen anders ist, natürlich auch irgendwie authentisch. Ist halt einfach ganz anders, aber nicht weniger authentisch. I think then I would describe it as authentic here, yes. On the other hand, something like Prati, which is completely different, is of course also somehow authentic. It's just completely different, but not less authentic. Q: Und dann auf ne andere Weise authentisch? So authentic in a different way? A: Naja, weil es n ganz anderes Stadtviertel ist. Das sind halt diese großen, schönen Altbauten. Es ist natürlich auch teurer da, die Klientel ist anders. Das sind eher so, öfters wohlbetuchte Italiener glaub ich, die sich das da leisten können, die Geschäfte sind dort teurer. Aber das ist auch authentisch, es wirkt halt immer aufgemotzter, so vom Gefühl, es sind da auch eher diese moderneren Bars und sowas und so bisschen snobbig ist es da halt. Aber es ist natürlich auch irgendwie authentisch, es gehört ja auch zur Stadt dazu. Ja, aber ich find Pigneto ist auf jeden Fall authentisch. Das ist halt auch nicht immer schön, sozusagen. Well, since it is a completely different neighbourhood. There are these big, beautiful old buldings. It is of course more pricey, the clientele is different. They are more like often wealthy Italians I think who can afford this, the shops are more expensive there. But it's also authentic, it just seems more dressed up, from my feeling, and there are more these more modern bars and such and it is a bit snobby there. But of course it's also in a way authentic, it also belongs to the city. Yes, but I find Pigneto authentic in any way. Which is also not always beautiful, so to say. Q: Also wenn du das wahre Rom sehen möchtest... So if you want to see the true Rome... A: Ja, das wahre Rom... Ich find es ist hier halt nicht so wirklich Rom oder es ist halt ganz anders als in der Innenstadt mit den ganzen, wo halt wirklich an jeder Ecke auch noch n archäologisches Monument steht, auf der anderen Seite hat man das hier auch, es ist halt hier einfach wirklich n Wohngebiet. Ja. Well, the true Rome... I think it isn't even really Rome here or it's just totally different than in the centre with all the archaeological monuments in every corner, on the other hand you also have that here, it's just really a residential area here, yes.

xlvii Interview 4: Fiona 35, from Apulia, works for an NGO and moved to Rome in 2005, three years later and came back in 2011. She moved to Pigneto in 2013 and rents an apartment there.

Q: How long have you been living in Pigneto? A: Three years. Well, I'm not from Pigneto, of course, as I guess the majority of the people that you interview. Uh, well, i lived in Rome, but not in Pigneto, from 2005 to 2008. Then i moved to Morocco for three years and then I came back to Rome and I stayed in another neighbourhood, in Spinaceto, that is very far from here, it's in the South part. But i moved to Pigneto in 2013, yes, 2013. Q: And where are you from? A: I'm from Lecce. Q: OK. By the way, whenever you want to speak Italian, you can. A: Yes, maybe later. Q: OK. So when where you in Pigneto for the first time? A: When I discovered Pigneto? Well, I don't remember exactly, but for sure it was between 2005 and 2008, yes. Because in 2005 and 2006 i was a student at the Roma Tre University, I attended the master degree in Roma Tre. When I moved to Rome in 2005 I came from Bologna, because i had my degree in the University of Bologna and then i moved here. Well, I met a lot of people at the University and so I discovered Pigneto like a neighbourhood where you have fun, for the evening. So I don't remember exactly, but probably towards 2006. Q: And what was your first impression? A: Uh, at that time I lived in a very family neighbourhood and I didn't like it. Well, it was very interesting to me. You know, I like places which are not beautiful, which are... you know, I like the railway station, I know it's not something that you put on a travel guide. I like the, come si dice, the archeologia urbana, the urban archaeology. And furthermore, when I lived in Bologna, I lived in a very young university neighbourhood, so it was a neighbourhood similar to my experience, to what i like. Then i discovered that it's also a neighbourhood full of history. Well, which is... now the gentrification is in our eyes. Five, ten.. yeah, ten years ago it was not the Pigneto we can see today, it became in a very short time a neighbourhood for artists, for young people, students and everybody that likes social life and cultural life and yeah. Now we don't still have the Cinema Aquila, which was, which is [laughs], but it doesn't work. It is becoming something else now. Q: The cinema? A: No, no, the neighbourhood. Il quartiere, non è... sta cambiando, estato per un periodo, estato un quartiere della cultura, adesso sta cambiando ancora. Sta riducendo a mio avviso questa componente culturale e come possiamo... The neighbourhood is not... it's changing, for some time it was, it was a neighbourhood of culture, now it is changing another time. In my view this cultural component is reducing, as we can notice from the shut down of a historical place like the Cinema Aquila. Which was for me a place that symbolised... If you ask me for some places that symbolise Pigneto, for me Cinema Aquila was one place. Q: When did it shut down? A: Meno di un anno fa. Less than a year ago. Q: And why did they shut down? A: There was a long controversy between the municipality and the people who were running the cinema, who managed it. Maybe there were some things which were some irregularities in the management. First of all you have to understand that it was a symbol for the area, because it was confiscated from the mafia, from Banda della Magliana [local Roman mafia]. Q: The cinema had been owned by the mafia? A: Sì, sì, sì. And after it was confiscated it became a cultural centre for the benefit of the whole neighbourhood. Now the closest cinema is in San Lorenzo, so not so close. Or at Manzoni, but for me... From my point of view it was very important for the cultural life. So there was the argument and then it was shut down by the municipality, I guess. The municipality used it for the latest edition of the Rome cinema festival. So the municipality kicked out the people who were operating it before and decided to use it for the festival, which was in October or November. And after the festival it was shut down again, it was just used for the festival, for a few days. Recently there was a contest to find someone to take

xlviii over the cinema, but for some reason nothing came out of it. Seems like nothing happens at the moment. E per me questo è un simbolo delle fatto que Pigneto sta cambiando ancora in un senso. And for me this is a symbol of the fact that Pigneto is changing again, in a sense. Q: So, let me go back. Why did you decide to move here? A: Because it was close to my job, it's not so far, it takes me half an hour by bus, so it's not so far. Some friends live in the neighbourhood and I like a place where I can go out, where I can walk and join a place where I can have a beer, meet friends, go to the cinema and I don't now, go to a vernissage or something like that. So, yeah. Q: And what is most typical for you about Pigneto? A: A place? Q: Yeah, places or looks or mentalities, everything. A: Well, as I said before the cinema, it was something very typical. You know Via Montecuccoli? Where there are some places where some movies of the neorealism have been shot, filmed. Q: Yeah... Pasolini? A: Yeah, also. And Via Montecuccoli is one of that. It's on the other side of here, if you go to the Prenestina, after the Prenestina, across the Prenestina, the other side. What else... well, this little bridge crossing the railway station, just here. This bridge from... questo, quando... tra la fermata della metro e qua, questa. [That one, between the metro stop and over there.] And of course l'isola pedonale [pedestrian zone] and the market in l'isola pedonale. Q: Is it every morning? A: Yeah, yeah. I usually go on Saturday, because it's my free day. No, but I think it is every day, yeah. Q: And why the pedestrian zone, except from the market? A: Well, the market... the pedestrian zone is the first thing i saw in Pigneto. I didn't remember exactly when, but I'm sure this was the first thing I saw in Pigneto. Well, the market because it represents the people from Pigneto, it doesn't represent people like me who came during the latest years, so... yeah, I think the market best represents people from the neighbourhood. Q: Who are the people from Pigneto? A: Well, people who are older, not rich, who lived here just after the second world war, who probably suffered during the second world war, from the bombing here in the neighbourhood and people that had a look on the evolution of this neighbourhood. I think they are people from Pigneto. I'm not people from Pigneto, I don't belong to here [laughs]. I think she's one of them [the barista of Bar Rosi]. V3: It looks like she has been here for a long time, I don't know how long exactly, but... A: Sì, sì, sì. Also if you go, I don't know if you have been, the restaurant in front, Porchettoni, you have some pictures of 1943 when the neighbourhood was bombed by the Germans. Q: It's inside? A: Yeah, inside. Q: OK, i should look at that. And well, what do you like about Pigneto? A: Well, since recently it's quite difficult, it's a difficult answer [laughs]. Uh, well, i like the fact that it looks like a little, come se dice, un piccolo paese, like a little village. Well, I like the little buildings and, well, but I don't like what is now the pedestrian zone. I don't like it at all. Q: Yeah, that would be the next question, what do you not like? A: Yeah, well, I chose it for some reasons I told you before and... they are OK for me, so i can easily meet my friends living here, that's important for my way of living and it's quite close to my job, OK, my problem is probably recently with Rome, not just with Pigneto. I have a problem with Rome [laughs]. So... Q: What is your problem? A: Probably the people told you that Rome became a really difficult city, a city where it is really difficult to live, to move from a neighbourhood to another, dirty... also, the way of thinking of people. Close, this... 19:45 the general attitude of being close-minded and of rejection of people coming from outside, including immigrants from the global south. I find this attitude especially in less well off areas. In poorer areas. Q: Like here? A: Also here, yeah. Or probably if you talk to someone who is having a beer at Necci, no, but if you take 3 Valentino was present as an interpretor during this interview and sometimes

xlix the 105, yes. If you take the little trenino from the Casilina. Q: You said you don't like the restaurants... A: Ah it's not that I don't like the restaurants! Q: ...the pedestrian zone? A: The zone, well, because of drugs, because of fight, because of hashish sellers. For that reason, because i find them aggressive. I'm not against drugs, I'm for the legalization of drugs. It could be the only way to reduce criminality. Well, not the only way, but legalization is one way to steal the business from the criminality and manage it by the state. It could be fantastic, i think, for the government. So I'm not against drugs, I'm against the attitude of people selling drugs here. I find them aggressive. Q: What do you think are differences from here to other places in Rome, like let's say Trastevere or San Lorenzo? A: Well for example, here it's more dirty. Ah no, if we compare with Trastevere yes, if we compare with San Lorenzo, no, not necessarily. I don't know very well San Lorenzo, cause I didn't study in Rome for university, I studied in Bologna, so I never frequented San Lorenzo, well of course sometimes yes, but it's not a neighbourhood that i know. San Lorenzo... yes, sometimes it happens, I go there for a beer or go to a restaurant with some friends, but i never lived there, i never go to the university, so i don't know. When i did my master's degree, i was in Roma Tre which is in Marconi, so... i don't know very well. If we compare it with other neighbourhoods like Trastevere or Prati of course Trastevere... people that live in Trastevere, you can find just, I think just Americans [laughs]. Well, I think they are not comparable. Trastevere is more international, richer, more expensive, expensive. Pigneto became more expensive, but not like Trastevere. It's my impression. I go out not so frequently, i work a lot, I travel a lot, so I'm not... I was in Rome during the two last months, I spent I think two weeks in Rome. I was in Tunisia three weeks, in Cameroon two weeks, so for me Rome is a base, but for my job I travel a lot. Q: Must be nice, but also stressful, I guess? A: Yeah. I'm often tired, but yeah, of course. I like my job. Q: So you don't think Pigneto could ever become like Trastevere? A: Now, well I can guess... Well, Trastevere also was 50 years ago a neighbourhood where poor people lived and then during the 70s, 60s and 70s new neighbourhoods were built, like Marconi, Ostiense. And so, poor people from Trastevere moved in those neighbourhoods. And so it became a neighbourhood for rich people, but once it was just for the poor. So why not? Maybe! Sincerely I don't know, yeah. The process which is ongoing probably will tell this, that Pigneto is becoming more and more for the radical chic. Q: For what? A: Uh, well, I don't know how to say it... V: In Italy we say radical chic, kind of like cool, trendy, uh... A: Uh, yeah, cool, trendy, but also engaged from a cultural point of view, engaged from a social point of view, I don't know. An example to explain, we say radical chic when we talk about people with a high cultural level, medium high economic level and very perceptive towards cultural things, new cultural things, new trends. But alternative, not just mainstream, also... A radical chic person would go to an experimental theatre show. Q: Interesting, nobody said that to me before, radical chic. V: I always thought it had a kind of derogative side to it, but maybe I was wrong. A: It's true, the way we use it in Italian it has a negative, sarcastic sound to it. V: It's just another side meaning that sometimes it can be used for someone who is like a bit ostentatious, like they pretend to be artsy, alternative, like they act a bit. A: But it's a nuance in my perspective. Q: So it's a bit like a hipster? A: Yes, yes. Q: And Pigneto is radical chic? A: Yeah. Sometimes, not everywhere, but sometimes, yeah. Q: And you already said something about it, but how do you think will Pigneto develop in the future? A: Hmm. I don't know. I don't know, probably the new metro will make Pigneto closer to the rest of Rome. Well, but sincerely I don't know. Well, probably this gentrification process... I'm not an urban sociologist, but probably this gentrification process will last some years, but i don't know if it will stop

l and go back or if it will become something different. I don't see myself here for the rest of my life, so probably I never asked myself this question. Q: Where exactly do you live here? A: Near the Casilina side, do you know the stop Alessi? Well, if you take the Casilina and go towards Torpignattara it's two bus stops before Torpignattara. Q: Ah, I see. And you said you feel the gentrification. What are the signs? A: The signs of gentrification? The prices of the apartments, also the restorations of a lot of buildings, the fact that a lot of clubs opened during the last years, the fact that a lot of people moved from other neighbourhoods to this neighbourhood and the fact that people who moved have some features. Well, people dealing with art, with social issues in different ways, a lot of clubs of photography appeared recently, so those are all signs of gentrification from my point of view. Q: You said the metro will change Pigneto as well? A: Well, the metro changes the look of it, of the neighbourhood. And, well it will not change my life, because i will not take the metro to go the job, but I think that it will be very useful for people here, above all in a city like Rome, which is impossible with the bus or car. Rome is not made for human beings. Q: Do you think the place where we met is a typical Pigneto place? A: Well, she is typical Pigneto [the barista] and it was also easier to you, because we met just here. V: And i think this is not gentrified. Because like you pay for this [an Aperol Spritz], you go to a cocktail place and you pay 6 or 7€. And here maybe 3€. A: Yes. It remained quite popular. Also the look of the bar, I think it is from the 50s. Q: So it's a more original place? A: Yeah, I feel like it. Q: Can you describe what Pigneto is to you in a few words? A: From my point of view, Pigneto is the neighbourhood that I chose, a neighbourhood that certainly is full of contradictions, but as a result for me also very fascinating and rich of hints of possibilities and if I would go back in time I would choose it again, because it's a neighbourhood where I feel at ease. Even in the general sensation that I feel towards Rome, it remains the neighbourhood I perceive still has a human measure, considering for what it means to me to live in a city. Q: What does this human measure contain? A: It's important for me to have the possibility to go out, to meet people, go to the cinema, see a movie, even though I don't do it [laughs]. Even though I don't do it a lot, I want the possibility to do it. When I lived in other areas in which I didn't have what I have here, I felt a lack of something. I'm too tired to go out at night, but I know it's possible to do it, if I want to. Q: OK, so also the cultural possibilities. A: Yeah. Q: OK, I only have a last question. What does the word authenticity mean to you? Autenticità? A: Uh, autenticità in my point of view, referring to Pigneto, is something that is connected to the people who were born and raised here. To the people that are from here, so something that is connected to these people. An areas changes also because of the people who live in it, so when the people change the area changes. It's not like these new people are less authentic than the old ones, but I think they're different. And this authenticity also means traditional from the place. This is my feeling. Q: Would you say Pigneto is an authentic neighbourhood? A: It is a neighbourhood that is changing. It has some aspects of authenticity, some aspects that refer to the new people who came here, including myself. I'm not authentic, not made in Pigneto. Made in Lecce [laughs]. Q So you think the new people take away some of the authenticity? A: Well, they are changing it.

Interview 5: Bella 28, hotel receptionist, grew up in Pigneto and lives in San Giovanni with her parents.

Q: Were you born in Rome? A: Yes, I was born in Rome, for sure, in Pigneto.

li Q: Do you still live there? A: No, I live in San Giovanni now. Q: So you don't live in Pigneto, but you come here a lot? A: No, my mother had a market in Pigneto in the pedestrian zone and we lived there until I was 10 or 11, yes. So I spent a lot of time here. And the situation is very changed, because this was a multi-ethnic place before. Now there are either old persons or university guys or pushers, that's it. So this is a very sad situation for me. Because this for me is a place of my childhood, you know, I remember when my father took me to funny places in the garden, jumping with him, with my mother, and my grandmother in the market. For me it is a very lovely place, but now it's very difficult to... everything is changed. From the buildings to the persons that stay here. Because you know, you can see now, there isn't an Italian boy now. Eritrea, Somalia... but I'm not racist. I'm a very free person, discrimination is not a part of my heart, but now... Unfortunately this situation is very difficult for me. Socialising with these persons, cause I know that too many persons die with their heroin. And this place is so, so sad, it's just alcoholics and only drugs. No life and this dynamic is very... no change, no moving forward, there is always... sad. Sad and the people are so sick, you can see. Q: When do you think it changed? A: Oh, maybe in 2001 and 2002. Yes. 16 years ago. Because a lot of people move from Pigneto, because this is a particular area, peripheral area and now Rome considered that a central area, but now the people have to move. And... I cannot explain this, because it is very difficult, because there is only drugs, only police, only people that drink every day and every night and broken wine bottles, beer bottles and the people can't sleep. The people move to the other parts of Rome. Because it's impossible to live here. I live after the arch, in Piazza Ragusa, it's very different. My zone is a residential area and I can walk around with my dog without seeing a person, drugs or addiction or, you know. Q: So you think most people want to move away from Pigneto? A: From 2001, yes. A lot of people. My grandmother, too. Q: She moved away? A: Yeah, of course. Because she is 79 years old and she wanted to sleep in the afternoon and it's impossible. Q: I see. So who do you think lives there now? A: Now? Only university guys because of San Lorenzo, the place very very near from here, and the other persons are pushers that sleep in the ferrovia, in the station. These people sleep in the ferrovia, it's very dirty and they take with them the dirt, the... very difficult for me to explain, because I love this place and I stay there today again, because I love this place. And that's it. Q: Can you tell me more about how it was when you were growing up, when you were younger? A: Yes, when I was younger for me this was a paradise. Because there was so much family with many children and when I was maybe six years old I stayed here alone in front of the market of my grandmother and now if I have a six year old child it's impossible. But at that time it was very, very simple. Life was simple. People collaborated and now there is too much discrimination. A lot. This is a very, very sad truth. But that's it. Q: In Pigneto? A: In Pigneto, yes, of course. You can ask everybody that lives in Pigneto, they will tell you No! I hate these people! But they are not racist, they are done with this situation. Q: You think they are sad that it's changing? A: Yeah. Yes, for sure. Q: And what do you think is typical about Pigneto? A: Well... The Pigneto-born like... a place for the population, for... you know. At the first time this place is a residential zone, also was a peripheral zone, but typical Pigneto is... very... I don't understand the question, typical, what do you mean? Because Pigneto was very economic, very cheap first. Now it is very expensive, because it is near to the university and every guy studies at the university comes here and the price for homes is not expensive, because too many people that moved away from Pigneto sold their home for not much money. Because we have to move very quickly and are not interested in money, it's very impossible to live here now. Q: So what do you think is the real Pigneto in your opinion? A: The real Pigneto doesn't exist anymore. Now exist only pushers. In old Pigneto, yes, but there are not

lii anymore the buildings that I saw as a child. Everything is different. Everything, everything. Now only pubs, only clubs, only pushers, only police. You can see with me now... 12 police in front of us, one boy that sleeps near us, it's impossible, because the civilization... there are a lot of people without permission and they sleep on the floor every night, in the afternoon, with dangerous malattie, I don't remember, malattie, when you stay so sick, when you stay so sick in the hospital. The people are so sick and sleep around us. And the people are scared. Q: Of the people on the street? A: Yes! You know, I see a lot of people who have AIDS here and you know, AIDS is very difficult to transmit, but too many people use heroin under this bridge and the syringes stay there on the floor. And the children run... Q: And the dogs. A: Yeah. My dog too. She has to stay with me and I'm scared. For this I stay every day in other parts of Pigneto and not here. It's not casual that we stay here now. Because I want that you see this with your own eyes. Q: So you wouldn't live in Pigneto? A: No. Absolutely not. I stay here only for affection, because I feel this place in my heart, because there is my grandmother... it's so sad these things. Q: You said the buildings also changed? A: The buildings, in the street you can see the tangenziale, it wasn't here when I was younger, there was a lot of trees, a lot of green and now it's only grey. Everything is grey, this is the only place that has two trees, two or three trees. It's very ugly for me and sad. Q: Do you know there's now a new metro stop? A: Yes, after the bridge, Ponte Casilino it's called. This is a very comic situation, because here in Rome the past sindaco... the boss of Rome, like the politician, was a fascist. I was so scared because if there is a sindaco that is fascist, it means that the people vote for this person. It means the people now in 2016 are fascist. And I'm so scared. I want to tell one thing, in the second world war my grandmother lived here, she was only a child, and my grand grandmother took with her and with her family two Jews that then... and the Nazis captured them. But she helped them to stay in security. Many Jews in Rome, when there was the second world war, came here. Because this is a peripheral zone and for these people it was easy to stay here in the war. Q: So your grand-grandma... A: My grand-grandma, yes. But I never knew her, only my grandmother. Q: So your grandmother was only a child. A: Yes, and she remembers very well when the bells of the war were singing. Because every quarter rings this for telling you Hey, the Nazis are coming and she remembers very well. [At this point one of the men in the park comes to talk to Bella and she asks me to stop recording. She buys a bit of weed from him.] A: We talk and these people come and talk. There isn't respect. The people are very... [The man comes back and asks Bella for a cigarette. She does not have any, which he does not believe her, so they argue until she shows him her empty purse.] Q: So, your grandmother lived here her whole life and then she left? A: She left, because she didn't want to stay in this situation, it's very dangerous for her at 80 years old, because the people steal your bag, because of the addiction, to buy a dose of drugs, take everything and... she was so scared and left. And then she came with us into the condominium in front of ours. Q: And do you think the metro has a...? A: It's a very comic situation, because the metro... yes. Fortunately the work on the subway is done. But I have my motorcycle, I can't tell you how the subway goes, but I can tell you for sure that the people now move more easily than before, but 20 years for building a subway, in my experience is a lot of time. In London for example, for another subway line the work is about 5 years, not more. London is very, very... the people work. Work and fun, work and fun, in Italy lo statto della chiesa, the church power, has a lot of power, it's very corrupt, a lot of corruption. The Mafia Capitale is a particular mafia of Rome, many politicians steal our money that we pay for the taxes. And why do I pay the taxes, if you steal my money, why? For what? It's a comic situation here with the public transportation. It's a fucking joke. Because in London or in Berlin the bus comes every 10 minutes, here no. 30 minutes, 35 minutes, oh!

liii It's not the train, it's only a bus! I don't want to go to Milano, I only want to go home! Q: So you think also the mafia has a saying in the metro? A: Yes, in the metro, in Pigneto, everywhere. In Rome, in Parioli, have you seen Parioli? The most expensive zone in Rome. Q: Where is that? A: In the north of Rome. And every boss of the Mafia Capitale lives in Parioli, but works here. Because here the people need the drugs, the corruption, they work here and live in Parioli. They occupied everything. Look, look, there is so much police, because in Pigneto the police move now because it is very dangerous, they have guns, they have kalashnikovs, it's very dangerous. Q: Do they catch people often? A: Maybe yes. Maybe yes. For me, now they are talking about Sunday, about a big blitz. Too many persons who sell drugs in front of the supermarket, in front of the children, it's impossible. Maybe for me, OK, if you want to work like this, do it! But not in front of me, this is a base of respect. I don't understand. Q: Yeah, I see. So is this something in which Pigneto is different from the rest of Rome? A: It's very different, because in the rest of Rome, the people don't go for drugs. There are only two places where you can buy drugs. First Pigneto, then Tor Bella Monaca at the end of this street, Via Casilina. In Tor Bella Monaca there is 'Ndrangheta. 'Ndrangheta is the particular mafia of Naples. [Bella accidentally hits my recording device with her hands and it falls to the ground] Oh, I'm sorry, honey. You know, here the people urinate, it's disgusting, sorry. Q: It's OK, don't worry. A: And so, in Tor Bella Monaca it's not dangerous like in Pigneto. Because the pushers who sell drugs in Tor Bella Monaca stay in their homes, not in the street. It's more secure. And, OK, you want to make money like this, OK, but inside your house please. Not in front of my nephew. Q: Yes, of course. Let me see what other questions I still have. A: Sure. It's a pleasure for me to talk about Pigneto. Q: Are there still things you like about Pigneto now? A: I like socialising with persons that I knew when I was a child. For example Chiara, the girl that was with me when we met. And I love walking around, smoking a cigarette and remember my childhood with my friends. This is the only positive point for us. Or drinking a beer, just like in Trastevere, it's only for drinking, only for this, and to remember like Oh, yeah, look at this, with my father I played with the ball here! Something like that. Q: Do you think Pigneto could ever become like Trastevere? A: No. No, it's impossible, because Trastevere is a very old place. In Trastevere there is a lot of history of art. In Pigneto there isn't art, you can see modern art in murals or street art, but only this. There aren't...mosaics, golden mosaics, in Trastevere there are a lot of churches, a lot of two centuries old buildings, two or three. Here there aren't. There is nothing, nothing. There is only one church that is...this church is 25 years old, not more. There isn't history of art or something like that, there isn't tourism. Q: No? Do you never see tourists? A: In the summer many tourists come here. Many tourists come here for asking us OK, I'm sorry, where can I buy weed? or Where can I buy coke? Where can I buy heroin? you know. A: So you think the tourists are coming for drugs. Q: A lot of tourists come here for drugs, because maybe they stay in a hotel in the centre, ask somebody Hey, in which part of Rome can I buy drugs? and then they are told OK, go to Pigneto and the tourists come here, but it's only... the people don't know that Pigneto has these drugs, the Italian people tell that to tourists, Come to Pigneto! The tourists don't know this. Q: So they don't come for the place or the...? A: Maybe in these last two years, maybe some come for the clubs, because in the summer there are very fun things in Pigneto, like the cocktails are not expensive, and because it's a popular zone. Maybe for this a lot of tourists come here. Either for drugs or for clubs, only for two things. Not to see anything, cause you cannot see anything, you can only see one hotel and stop. But a very positive thing about Pigneto are the restaurants. Because the chefs are Italian and cook very typical Italian cuisine. And this is a very particular thing about Pigneto. The people come for food. For food, for drinks or to

liv stay in a club. Q: And why do you think people would move to Pigneto? Like rent a house in Pigneto? A: Why? Maybe for drugs. Because all the people I met, every person stays here for the drugs. All the people that you see walking around are waiting for the pushers to give them drugs. It's a very sad situation. For example him with the car, I know him, he bought something and now he goes to the station to [makes a gesture of shooting heroin]. Carlo, ciao! He just closed the car door. Q: What does the word authentic or authenticity mean to you? Would you describe Pigneto as authentic? A: It's a very difficult question. In Pigneto for authenticity... maybe the last part of Pigneto, but you don't see this part. After the bridge, where you see the new subway. There is a lot of buildings that are a kind of buildings... they are very authentic buildings of Pigneto. Q: Which ones, how do they look? A: Very small buildings with maximum three floors. With an attic and a lot of plants, a lot of flowers like in Holland [laughs]. Not tulipani, but many flowers and the people try to defend this architecture. But here it's changed, everything. [Another young, black guy comes over to talk to Bella. She seems happy to see him. He introduces himself to me as L.] A: This is the only guy here that I know that doesn't have anything wrong with him. He covers himself, is not dirty, is very clean, smells like a flower [laughs], respects the law and respects the people. The only guy I know here. Q: [to Al] How long have you been living here? L: Four years. But I don't live in Pigneto, but it's like, I always come to Pigneto to smoke, visit friends... A: So same reasons that I gave you! Q: So you like coming here? L: Yeah. I like this situation, it's like, they have so many bars, cheap drinks... I don't know. A: Exactly. Cheap drinks, the same thing I told you! L: For me it's better than the expensive things... A: For example, Trastevere is very expensive, if I and L go to Trastevere, 20€ for two drinks is possible. Here for 1,50€ you can drink. L: Yeah, yeah. A: For this, many tourists come here. Q: For the cheap drinks? A: Yes. L: For cheap drinks and free life. Q: What do you mean by free life? L: Like smoking weed, having fun, seeing different people. A: Because in Trastevere... here the police is very... one joint is not a problem for the police. There are a lot of problems in Pigneto, but in Trastevere it's impossible to smoke and walk around with a joint in your hand. Here it's possible, but obviously not in front of the police. But it's... yes. You can smoke easily. Q: And in Trastevere they are probably scared that the tourists will leave. A: Yes, because the police in Trastevere, if they catch you smoking, they immediately question you. For one joint? Are you crazy? Are you mad? For one joint? But you know, in Italy unfortunately we have a government that is shit. Because a lot of people that do politics are fascists. Mussolini, the history of Italy, unfortunately. He took the Pacto de Acero with Hitler and in Italy, like in Germany, we have a lot of fault because of the Jews. Today again, we have a lot of fault, we feel fault for that happening. [L asks Bella for a cigarette. Bella tells him that she doesn't have any, but that she has some herbino, weed.] In Italy we feel a lot of fault, because we voted for Mussolini, the dictatorship. And that's it, it's a sad situation, I know. In fact when I can, I go outside of Italy. Q: You would like to move away? A: Yes, for example in the summer I always went to Egypt, but now it's so dangerous there. These years I go to Ibiza or Formentera. [Bella and L smoke a joint together.] Q: So in your opinion, what are the best sides of Pigneto?

lv A: Cheap drinks, smoke easily in the street and eat very typical Italian cuisine. Only this. Because I explained to you the problem that there is here. Q: So that's the good words? A: Yes, yes. And for you? [to L] L: Same thing, cheap drink and free smoke. A: Like me! [laughs] Q: And the bad things? A: The bad things... Dirty street! Dirty street! Can you record this? This animal is very sick [a pigeon]. And the building is very ugly. This is a hotel, five stars hotel. For you? For you it's a five stars hotel? Q: Really? No. A: It's very ugly. L: But it's four star! Four star! A: For me, a five star hotel is Hilton. Not this. To describe Pigneto... come si dice, clandestinità? Immigration. And obviously the bad thing and the good thing about immigration. The police everywhere, is everywhere. And you know, five words. Police, too much police, club... three words. Very, very dirty buildings, there isn't a garden, there isn't a funny place near with green parks. Only this garden, but it's so dirty. That's it. I'm sorry. Five words to describe our Pigneto... OK. The first one: a lot of police that stay here in every moment. Because either there is a police with a uniform or there is a man that is a police without a uniform. Number two: the dirty street, everywhere in this place. Number threre: there is a lot of clubs where you can drink very cheap or something like that. The last thing, but for me it's the first of the good side, because there is a lot of restaurants, the old osteria, osteria is a typical name, the typical Roman name for a real restaurant with the features... the old mentality. For example, you come in the restaurant in Pigneto and when you enter in the restaurant, the person that you see immediately gives you a bottle of wine for free and they cook spaghetti at 3€, but very good spaghetti carbonara, amatriciana, very very typical cuisine, Italian cuisine, Roman cuisine. The recipes are original recipes from... twenty, 1920. yes.

[At this point, Bella wants to show me something. We leave the garden and walk west on the Via del Pigneto.]

A: It's a fusion of multi-ethnic persons. Have you seen one family? We stayed together since three o'clock or not? [It was around 4:30pm at this point] OK, have you seen just one family? Q: No. A: OK. This is the answer. Only old, only alcohol addicts, only immigrated. For this it's sad. For the people that live here with their dogs... no young people, no students, because students live here but don't go here, only live here. Q: No? So where do they go? A: San Lorenzo, Trastevere... yes. Because the students... they live here maximum one year. So when you walk with your dog like me, so I walk with my dog, I say Oh hi Chiara! How are you? and that's it. But when I go outside in my free time I don't come here, I go to Trastevere, to another place, not here. This is only because I live in Piazza Ragusa, the distance is so little. Q: If you would live further away, you wouldn't come here anymore? A: Yes, for sure, if I lived in another place, this place... I only come here because I live in Piazza Ragusa. I don't like it anymore. Q: So where are we going now? A: To the station. For showing you something. But if the station is closed I can't show you. If it's open OK, but I don't know. I want to go inside, because under the tangenziale, this structure, there is an abandoned train station and the people sleep there. You can see everything. [Unfortunately the station is closed] A: There is a place with only syringes, it's like Naples. This place is very, very, very dangerous after eight o'clock. Now that the sun is still up it's OK. [A family with two children passes by] This family is the only family that we have seen until now. The children finish school, the mommy picks them up, but then they go inside immediately, they don't stay here. But back in time it was not this. There were condominiums with people that played together, that socialised. Now they immediately go into the

lvi house. Because now, OK, 10 minutes to five... it's very sad. [We are passing a roofed wall that has a high fence in front if it] Why is this here? Because people sleep here and with this wall they stop that. OK, what the fuck! Come here. [She shows me a syringe on the ground] In front of the children! [Across the street is the building into which the family went] Now the situation is stopped. Before the situation was even more dangerous than now. The police now have power. One year ago the police wasn't here, it was a chaos. Syringes everywhere. And the dirt was everywhere, the people were very furious. Q: Did the police come because the people wanted them to? A: Yes, they protested. A lot of protest. Because the people were so scared. Q: So, where does Pigneto end actually? A: Actually, Via del Pigneto is a street that is two kilometres long until Acqua Bullicante. And in this direction it stops at the bridge, there are train tracks under the bridge, Pigneto finishes there. Porta Maggiore, the name is Porta Maggiore. Before San Lorenzo, the place where many tourists go.

Interview 6: Chiara 75, was born in Pigneto and lived there her whole life; she used to work as a waitress and owns an apartment in a condominium complex in Via del Pigneto.

Q: How was Pigneto before? Good. A big family. Now there are too many immigrants. When I was a child when a neighbour went to the seaside she called my mother and asked if I could go with her. And she took all the children of the neighbourhood with her. Do you know what kind of news you would read? You would read She has been hit by a bicycle! Because people didn't even have cars. Q: When was that? A: I'm talking about the 60s. I was born in 1940. I'm talking about the 50s and 60s. It was beautiful then. In the bars people danced, there were singers and all people in the evening went out in the street. It was like village. Q: And now it's not anymore? A: Now we feel like strangers. It's not beautiful anymore like this. But what can you do about it? If you live here, you have to accept it. But there are a lot of people until late, until two or three o'clock in the night in Pigneto. If you look there, do you see the restaurant? It is open until three or four in the morning. That's beautiful, you can sit there with children, bicycles, also in the winter, because the put heaters outside. In Pigneto there are very sociable and helpful people. At least the people that I know, that I know since many years. Because this is like a village, like a small village. That was before. Before, there were big families and everyone knew one another. Now it's impossible to walk in the street, because it's dangerous, because of the cars but mostly because you don't know anybody anymore. Before, you could leave the doors open, if you needed bread for example you could ask your neighbours, now it's impossible to do that. I still know some people of my age, also because I'm very sociable, I talk to everybody. Well, if you don't talk to me, I talk to somebody else. Do you understand the way I am? Then there is the market, it's beautiful, there are schools, all kind of schools, there are gardens, supermarkets and you can go there and sit, if a person passes and you say hello, you can communicate. Q: So it's not like before but it's still nice? A: Before it was better, but there was more poverty, but it was better. There was no television, so you also went out more often with the neighbours and talked to them. So you talked about food and now we talk about television, it's all changed, but I think it's changed everywhere. The television has isolated people. Everyone is in their own house, watching television. But I was born here and I still feel good about being here after all. You also live here now? Q: Yes, I rented a room on the edge of Pigneto, at Acqua Bullicante. A: It's not so far. So how much do you pay? 200€? Q: No [laughs], 450€. A: For an apartment? Q: For one room, but a big room. A: No! It's too expensive. For one room you should pay 200€, 250€. You pay too much! It was much cheaper here before. 1:50 But many young people don't want to stay here. My daughter who graduated,

lvii she couldn't wait to go somewhere else, she wanted to go to the centre of Rome. But this is almost centre, when I worked at Termini I almost went there by foot, so to say. It's very well connected, there is the metro now and you can go all around Rome with the metro with 1,50€. It's well connected, you can also go to the castles [the small towns in the south of Rome]. There is communication with people and with public transport. You meet a policeman, you can talk you them, you can laugh with them, if you see someone who eats something they offer to you or you can offer to them. Q: So the neighbourhood has maintained it soul? A: Yes, it has maintained it a bit, but it has. Less because of the foreigners, because the foreigners are diffident. It's difficult, I don't want to make a generalization, but many foreigners are diffident. Especially women, not the men, but the women, when they get close to you they are afraid, they don't want to chat. The men are more keen to talking to you, after all what do you talk about? You talk about food, kitchen, clothes, for example an Indian woman a few days ago was wearing a golden dress and I told her How beautiful! and she answered I don't understand. I asked How much did you pay? and she said I don't understand. When they don't want to talk they say they don't speak Italian. But after all, the whole world is a village [meaning of the phrase: this probably happens everywhere].

Interview 7: Ugo 60, shop owner; grew up in Rome, works in a shop in Via del Pigneto since 25 years and owns it since 10 years.

Q: So, did the neighbourhood change a lot in the last years? A: I feel like yes, it has changed. Q: How long have you been here? A: Before, there was my aunt managing the shop and I helped her. It's been 10 years since I took over the shop. Q: During these 10 years it has changed? A: Certainly, yes. Q: You think it's better or worse now? A: I would say worse. Q: For what reasons? A: For some problems, there were also problems before, but not as apparent as now, for example drug dealing and now it's become a quarter of people going out in the night, the normal shops are not here anymore, only clubs, bars... It's a quarter that is lived almost exclusively in the evening. For example, there is no more haberdashery, I hear all the others complain that there is no more day life. Q: But outside of Via del Pigneto there are still traditional shops? A: Actually here it is quiet enough. The problem is after the little bridge in the pedestrian zone. There there are more people complaining about these problems. Then the metro, we expect a lot from the metro. Q: In what ways, more people or...? A: Yes, but they didn't make parking lots for cars and there is not the influx of people that we would expect. Because the road now is more narrow than it used to be. I remember that when I came here before, there was a sidewalk, there were more trees, then I also find this metro aesthetically horrible. It's been seven years with a closed road for the construction, so we expected a little more in return. Q: Maybe when it will be finished and connected to the centre? A: It's not that it's not connected to the centre, in my opinion it's disproportionate both underground and overground for the needs of the people of the neighbourhood. And the lack of the parking is a sensitive influence. Q: How do you think it will change in the future? A: I hope it will be better, but I don't know. This depends on politicians. It's not that we can do a lot about it. But we hope... but there are a lot of artists here, a lot of cultural initiatives, but unfortunately the negative things are prevalent. Unfortunately. Obviously I talk about this part of Pigneto, but Pigneto is big. There are different problems for different parts of the quarter. There are some initiatives like Cinema Aquila, they had restructured it and made a cultural centre of it but I think this project drowned.

lviii Q: What happened? A: They restructured it, they made a cultural centre and made some first screenings, but now it has been some time that I haven't heard anything about it. Q: But is it public or private property? A: I honestly don't know. Before there were a lot of cinemas and now there are no more cinemas, but it's also true that now fewer people go to the cinema than in older times. Just some big cinemas with more rooms... there were three cinemas here, now they disappeared. One after the bridge has become a gym, one a supermarket and one a bingo [a small casino]. There were transformed to other businesses. But I think there are some theatre activities going on. Q: So do you think there are less cultural things now? A: There are many different theatre initiatives, because they come to me with the most weird requests for fancy clothing for the stage, for example wigs. But I don't know where they are, in which places they are doing these theatre activities. But I think theatre is alive here. Q: So there are still things that you like about Pigneto? A: Yes, certainly. Not everything is to throw away. But the thing that I lament most is that is has become a quarter of just nightlife, of restaurants. And the nuisance of all these people going around in the evening. And shops like a fish shop, a dry cleaning shop, they are disappearing. People go to malls now, so there is not so much business anymore for us. Q: How long has this shop existed? A: For 45 years. Q: Wow, so it's a historical shop. A: Yes, let's say it's historical. But it's been changed according to the business opportunities. We started with souvenirs and porcelain and since a school opened across the street we started with toys.

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