L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 10 L'Italo-Americano E very city has its s q u a r e , b u t there isn't quite a country where s q u a r e s a r e a s socially important as they a r e h e r e i n I t a l y . O u r piazze are truly special: to begin with, even the small- e s t o f h a m l e t s h a s o n e , something you don't neces- sarily see in other parts of the world, where squares are common in larger cities and towns, but are often missing from the urban plan of vil- lages. Wherever you are in the country, you can bet you'll find either a church or the t o w n h a l l i n t h e m a i n square. The village where I used to live on the Italian R i v i e r a h a d t h r e e l a r g e squares, separated by two narrow alleys: social, com- mercial, political, and spiri- tual life all revolved around them. Indeed, squares always had one or more of these roles, since the beginning of civilization: they were creat- ed to be a commercial hub and to facilitate socializa- tion, to bring attention to a r e l i g i o u s b u i l d i n g , o r t o ensure citizens could gather and make their voices heard. An interesting article pub- l i s h e d b y U r b a n f i l e o n their blog - Urbanfile is an I t a l i a n a r c h i t e c t u r e a n d urbanistic think tank that focuses on elaborating and a n a l y z i n g c o n t e m p o r a r y architectural projects - says that squares, in many ways, are a synonym of democracy i t s e l f . A n d t h e y c e r t a i n l y were conceived as democrat- ic spaces by those who, if not first certainly most notably, i n s e r t e d t h e m i n t o t h e i r u r b a n p l a n n i n g : t h e G r e e k s . The a g o r a was j u s t t h a t , a p l a c e l a r g e enough for all citizens to p a r t i c i p a t e i n p u b l i c a n d political meetings and par- take in the running of their own town. Many of us may be even more familiar with the ancient Roman ver- s i o n o f t h e a g o r a , t h e forum: different name, but the idea was the same, that of a place created to exercise the democratic concept of power-sharing between peo- ple and their ruling élites. Both the agora and the forum, of course, also ful- filled other roles: market stalls and shops often lined t h e i r p e r i m e t e r a n d s o , a l m o s t w i t h o u t r e s i d e n t s t a k i n g n o t i c e , t h e y a l s o became a place of commerce and, very importantly, of socialization, turning into a multi-tasking urban space, v e r y s i m i l a r t o w h a t w e know today. In many of our towns and cities, Roman fora contin- ued to fulfill the same role in the Middle Ages, just we no longer used a Latin word for them and, more often than not, churches entered the picture, too, becoming key architectural landmarks. These are the times when the spiritual role - if you pass me the expression - of squares began: often Christ- ian celebrations would spill from churches onto their churchyard, with blessings, p r o c e s s i o n s , a n d a c t s o f w o r s h i p t a k i n g p l a c e i n d o o r s a n d o u t d o o r s . A symbol of Faith, for sure, but also the beginning of local traditions we still cele- b r a t e a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y today. In fact, we noticed the immense power of squares in a spiritual and emotional s e n s e d u r i n g t h e p a n - demic, when many Italians witnessed their local priests w a l k i n g o u t o f c h u r c h e s ' m a i n d o o r s a n d b l e s s i n g people in the square. And who hasn't seen on the news the touching images of Pope Francis alone under the rain o n S a i n t P e t e r ' s S q u a r e , praying for the world and for Humanity, in those very same tragic weeks? The still- n e s s a n d m a j e s t y o f t h e s p a c e a r o u n d h i m m a d e those moments all the more powerful and meaningful. A t t h e s a m e t i m e , w e shouldn't forget that some of o u r m o s t b e a u t i f u l a n d famous squares were initial- l y c r e a t e d a s s o m e t h i n g entirely different. Want an example? Piazza Navona, in Rome, used to be a stadi- um in Roman times: wanted b y E m p e r o r D o m i t i a n , i t was known as circus ago- nalis, it had been conceived for athletic competitions and games and could seat more t h a n 3 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e . W i t h time passing, the circus ago- nalis lost its original func- tion but kept its importance and, some of you may know, i t s e l l i p t i c a l p e r i m e t e r , which is still clearly visible today. By the way, in case you are around Rome and interested in checking it out, the archaeological site of Domitian's circus agonalis is open and easy to find: it's just under Piazza Navona itself! Democracy, commerce, s p i r i t u a l i t y a n d , w e s a i d , socialization. Today, this is perhaps the most recog- n i z a b l e a n d u b i q u i t o u s l y a p p r e c i a t e d a m o n g t h e square's functions, a func- tion that started truly devel- oping in the 17th and 18th centuries, with the birth of B a r o q u e . Because if it's true that fora and Medieval squares were a place where you could meet friends and acquaintances and interact with others, it was Baroque times that transformed our squares into the town's own living rooms: the square is w h e r e t h e t o w n ' s m o s t impressive and important buildings are but also where people like to seat and watch the world go by while sip- ping their afternoon coffee. It is where teenagers often meet before fare le vasche in c e n t r o , s t r o l l a r o u n d t h e town center, for some win- dow shopping and chatting. Squares are the first place we bring visitors from out of town to introduce them to the place we live and they are definitely where we go for aperitivo with them on t h e f i r s t e v e n i n g o f t h e i r stay. P i a z z e a r e m o r e t h a n urbanistic and architectural feats in our cities, they are local history in a nutshell, they are the place where we g e t o u r n e w s o r h a v e o u r morning coffee before rush- ing to work, they are where many of our social memories are made: the heart and soul of every corner of the coun- try, and a very special place for each and every Italian. The meaning and history of the Italian piazza FRANCESCA BEZZONE Markets: is there anything more traditional associated with squares in Italy? (Photo: Karl Allen Lugmayer/Dreamstime) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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