Network Culture in Italy in the 1990s and the Making of a Place for Art and Activism By Valeria Federici Ph. D., Brown University, 2019 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree in Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Italian Studies at Brown University PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND MAY 2019 © Copyright 2019 by Valeria Federici This dissertation by Valeria Federici is accepted in its present form by the Department of Italian Studies as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date___________ ____________________________ Prof. Massimo Riva, Advisor Recommended to the Graduate Council Date___________ ____________________________ Evelyn Lincoln, Reader Date___________ ____________________________ Courtney J. Martin, Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date___________ ____________________________ Andrew G. Campbell, Dean of the Graduate School iii Valeria Federici received her PhD in Italian Studies and, while at Brown University, she obtained an MA in History of Art and Architecture through the Open Graduate Education program. Federici had graduated in Letters from the Università Roma Tre in Rome, Italy. In 2015, she co- organized Chiasmi, the Brown-Harvard graduate student conference. In 2016, with the collaboration of the Center for Digital Scholarship at Brown University, she completed a digital interface that investigates the relationships between the Garibaldi Panorama (a painting, two hundred sixty feet in length, which has been digitized at Brown University) and the visual and textual materials collected in the Harvard Risorgimento Preservation Collection. Her contribution to this project is the subject of an article that appeared in the XXXIX volume of the NEMLA Journal of Italian Studies (2017.) Her past and current research has resulted in academic publications on several topics, among which: contemporary art theories and practices (Oxford Art Journal; Caareviews.org; Interdisciplinaryitaly.org); the visual representation of women in Italian television and cinema—this subject is discussed in a book chapter titled “Television and cinema: Contradictory role models for women in 1950s Italy?” which is part of the volume, Representations of Female Identity in Italy: From Neoclassism to the 21st Century (2016); and finally, the history of modern Italy (Italian Americana, 2018.) She presented about these topics in various conferences in the U.S. and Europe. In 2017, she was awarded a Travel Fellowship from the Center for Italian Modern Art in New York, NY as well as the Brown in the World Travel Grant from the Cogut Center for the Humanities that helped her to spend time in Italy to conduct archival research related to her dissertation. Prior to Brown University, she worked for three years as Program Coordinator for a nonprofit arts organization in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. She currently teaches history of art and Italian literature at an international school in Rome, Italy. iv Acknowledgements This dissertation marks a new beginning and stems from a six-year journey. It could have not been possible without the help of advisors, artists, colleagues, family, friends, and the incredible supportive environment at Brown University. I cannot thank enough Prof. Courtney J. Martin for her insightful comments to my work and professional suggestions as a graduate student and as a doctoral candidate. Prof. Evelyn Lincoln showed me how openminded a scholar should be by demonstrating a keen interest to every subject, including mine, even when off of her scholarship path. She is an example of how to be a coherent, kind, and humane scholar. Prof. Massimo Riva believed in my project and in my ability to carry it out, and I have no words to express how much I have benefitted from his support throughout the years. His creative and interdisciplinary approach to scholarship is a source of inspiration. My colleagues and friends made this journey the most enjoyable intellectual experience while some institutions contributed in making my stay in Italy possible. My summer research was partially funded by the Center for Italian Modern Art in New York, NY and by the Brown in the World Travel Grant from the Cogut Center for the Humanities. Thank you both for allowing me to travel across Italy. I wish to express a sincere thank you to the collective of Forte Prenestino in Rome, the collective of the Cox 18 and of La Calusca library in Milan, and to the collective of the Ex-Ermerson in Florence. In particular, thank you to Giorgio, Mario, Nikki, Paolo, Raffaele Valvola, Stefano, and Arturo Di Corinto. I also wish to thank Gino Giannuzzi of the Neon Gallery in Bologna. A greater thank you goes to Agnese Trocchi and Tommaso Tozzi for the time they have dedicated to my countless questions, and to Antonio Glessi of the Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici. I hope not to leave anyone out, but if I do, please forgive me. Above all, this project is dedicated to my husband, Sean. I own him infinite gratitude for sharing his heart, mind, and creativity with me throughout these long, hectic, formidable years. His emotional and intellectual support has been invaluable. This thesis, and many other projects I overtook while at Brown, would have not existed without his tremendous help, endless encouragement, and love. v Table of content Introduction p. 1 Chapter One: A “real virtuality:” Italian network culture in the 1990s. Hybridity, cyberpunk, and social centers p. 22 Chapter Two: How Forte Prenestina became the C. S. O. A. Forte Prenestino p. 56 Chapter Three: Information as an artistic medium p. 96 Chapter Four: Exhibiting the digital p. 123 Conclusions p. 158 Illustrations p. 167 Bibliography and p. 203 Webliography vi List of illustrations Fig. 1 Tommaso Tozzi, Happening Digitali Interattivi, 1992, cd-rom, BBS, book, floppy disk. Photo by the author. Fig. 2 A stencil graffiti inside Forte Prenestino, 2017. Photo by the author. Fig. 3 Agnese Trocchi, Warriors of Perception, 2001, Still from HTML loop. Fig. 4 Tommaso Tozzi, Interattività e controllo, 1991. Happening in chat. Still from video. Fig. 5 Il Manifesto, June 4, 1994, The possible community – A map shows several social centers around Italy. Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 6 Flyer to promote a series of events organized by Forte Prenestino in the summer of 1994 that took place throughout the neighborhoods at the periphery of Rome. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 7 Decoder, Issue 12, 1998. The image (top-right) is outlined as if the viewer is looking at a computer screen while the image is being edited. Archivio Grafton9 Fig. 8 Decoder, Issue 3, 1991? – Article dedicated to the Cyber-Punk and to Williams Gibson. Archivio La Calusca, Cox 18 Fig. 9 Bulletin of self-managed social center. Cover. 1989. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 10 Bulletin of self-managed social center. Last pages. 1989. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 11 The belt of forts in Rome. ISCAG, Forti di Roma, 17001, 84/F Fig. 12 A floor plan of Forte Prenestina, 1889. ISCAG, Forti di Roma, 17001, 84/F Fig. 13 Detail of a map showing the “tenute” around Forte Prenestina. 1880 circa. ISCAG, Forti di Roma, 17001, 84/F Fig. 14 Cover page of the fanzine L’URLO. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 15 A poster produced for an event by Forte Prenestino along the lines of cyclostyled fanzines. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 16 A poster produced for an event by Forte Prenestino along the lines of silk-screen printed fanzines. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 17 Poster, May 1, 1987. Cristiano Rea. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 18-23 Exhibition of graphic work by Cristiano Rea, Forte Prenestino, Rome, 2017. Cristiano Rea. Photos by the author. vii Fig. 24 Event calendar of 1991’s art festival. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 25 Map of Forte Prenestino and layout of activities and laboratories during the 1991’s art festival. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 26 The underground corridors and cells during the Crack! Fumetti Dirompenti festival, 2017. Photo by the author. Fig. 27 Cover page of the fanzine “Tutta Salute” featuring two figures with their heads replaced by a TV set. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 28 Flyer announcing an event dedicated to Cyberpunk, Hacker Art, and the network INTERZONE during the 1991’s art festival. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 29 Flyer by INTERZONE. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 30 Flyer explaining how to connect to FIDO Network. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 31 Poster for May 1- No Labor Day event at Forte Prenestino. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 32 A manifesto referring to the kidnapping of Aldo Moro in 1978 in Rome. Fig. 33 A commemorative piece celebrating the graffiti artist, Tromh. Forte Prenestino, 2018. Photo by the author. Fig. 34-37 Commemorative piece celebrating graffiti artist, Tromh. Details. Forte Prenestino, 2018. Photos by the author. Fig. 38 Another piece commemorating graffiti artist, Tromh outside of Forte Prenestino, 2018. Photo by the author. Fig. 39 Flyer to announce Forte Prenestino’s radio program on Radio Onda Rossa, 1987. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 40 A poster designed in occasion of the sixth year of the occupation in 1992 that shows the different laboratories and activities inside the fort. © Archivio Forte Prenestino Fig. 41-46 Graffiti art in the park surrounding Forte Prenestino, 2018. Photos by the author. Fig. 47 “Street Art – Bansky & Co. in the Urban Form,” Palazzo Pepoli, March-June, 2016 Bologna, Italy. Installation view of “Bambina Precoce” by Tommaso Tozzi. Photo by the author. Fig. 48 Still from an animation of the computer-based comic strips titled, Giovanotti Mondani Meccanici. In this particular scene, the three main characters are leaving the Bar Taboo with Ella. GMM, 1986. Courtesy of the artist. Fig. 49 Computer elaborated network of subatomic particles resulting from the collision between matter and antimatter following an experiment conducted by Nobel viii Laureate Carlo Rubia at the CERN, Geneva, Switzerland.