Romanzo Meticcio

Romanzo Meticcio studies the Italian post-colonial condition as a fundamental element of the contemporary life of the Bel Paese. In my research, the prefix "post" takes on a progressive historical value. It creates a connection between the present, the colonial past, and the intranational and international migratory waves inviting a critical attitude toward the legacy of the past and a careful analysis of the effects on today's society.

The decolonization of Italian possessions in Africa occurred after the fall of the fascist government in 1943. Somalia was an exception. It gained independence in 1960. Unlike other colonial powers, such as France or England, which generated large migratory flows from the former colonies, the decolonization of Italian possessions occurred due to the weakening of the dictatorship. The post-colonial era in Italy appears less recognizable and still little known. Yet, numerous visible traces testify to this legacy. The architecture, the infrastructure, and the education, starting with the use of the term “colony” that in Italian culture takes on multiple meanings. It refers to overseas possessions, the Italian communities of emigrants abroad, and the lands reclaimed during the fascism period that gave birth to the so-called città di fondazione that caused a massive internal migration. It is a term that, like a prism, reflects the evolution of cultures and geopolitical and environmental changes.

The Italian State, since its unity, has created a narrative based upon the identification of places and people considered marginal. It is not re-evoking history but reading its meanings and evaluating its impact on current political issues that intersect with the social development of the country: the suburbs, the South, minorities, and second-generation Italians and the question of fascist ideology that has never dormant and has never been addressed and resolved in an open public debate. It has often been veiled, denied, or very often minimized. Precisely also placed on the margins.

The photographic medium in the 1930s was a fundamental tool to justify the colonial policies based on racial segregation and to represent certain situations as marginal. Photographs became a performative act of exclusion. Who photographed these realities? What audience was it aimed at? And for what reason?

If the process of removing colonial history has pervaded Italian culture since the Second World War, Romanzo Meticcio wants to bring this past to light. It creates new imaginaries and cultural scenarios for the future by questioning Italian identity to its core. My research does it by placing at the center what is marginalized, not identified, little represented, scarcely considered, and conceiving migrants and the following generations of new Italians in ways that go beyond rejection and victimization.

Due to the complexity of the project and its meaning within modern Italian society, I have decided to paste a Google Drive Link where to find additional material part of the project: Archival Videos, Videos (I made. The ones uploaded are a preview made with the phone because the excellent version was too heavy), manifestos and archival pictures). I know the huge amount of submissions but I felt the link was needed:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11LLCBs3huNw1u4pe1G_p5-sW_jpHfrgf?usp=share_link