Il Centro di cultura proletaria della Magliana. Costruire appartenenze tra i giovani di un quartiere popolare romano (1971-92)

Abstract

Between May and June 1971, the inhabitants of the Prato Rotondo slum were relocated to the newly built Magliana district. In an attempt to prevent the community from disintegrating, the new inhabitants set up the Centro di cultura proletaria: a space on the street, open to the neighborhood, which in almost twenty years of activity has involved hundreds of people. Similar to other places of aggregation, but with its own specificities, the Centro di cultura proletaria experimented with forms of contro-scuola. Through field investigations, the collection of life stories and collective writing, it provided tools for raising awareness of one’s condition and claiming rights, contributing to develop clearly defined social identities and local affiliations. Based on the analysis of various sources, this contribution delves into the practices of representation and self-representation generated in this specific context, following its transformations up to the threshold of the 1990s.