Piazza Verdi, Bologna

Abstract

This paper present in short the result of a research focused on Giuseppe Verdi Square (Bologna) as public space. The aim of the research was to carry out the different perspectives and interpretation of the square by the different local users. Piazza Verdi, situated in the historic centre of Bologna, is often represented in recent years as a pragmatic place of the "damage" that characterizes the town. In September 2007 the research began, promoted by the Office of Culture & Corporate Communication of the University of Bologna in collaboration with the Department of Education and the Department of Sociology, and it’s completed in October 2008. The group of research conducted an analysis of the issues, needs and expectations highlighted by the multiplicity of social actors who use Giuseppe Verdi Square, their practices of daily life, their methods of use of the site, different perceptions and representations of the square produced by these social actors. Besides, it raises also an historical analysis of the place and how this has changed in recent years, especially cause this area is a symbolic place of the relationship between city and university. The essay thus presents as a work in progress and should be read in this direction.