Urban Narratives and the Spaces of Rome: Pier Paolo Pasolini and the City
di Gregory Smith
Routledge, 2023
This book foregrounds the works of Pier Paolo Pasolini to study the Roman
periphery and examine the relevance of Pasolini’s vision in the construction of
subaltern identity and experience. It analyses the contemporary Italian society
to understand the problem of social exclusion of marginal communities. The book
uses narrative analysis to unpack the deeper meaning of Rome’s stigmatized
periphery through an interplay of Italian cinema, literature, and social and
political climates. It encourages a positive interpretation of the Roman
periphery through its characterization as a homogeneous area of marginality as
emphasized in Pasolini’s writings and films on Rome. This re-evaluation left a
lasting impact on the modern periphery and the narratives of ordinary citizens
as evident in contemporary street art and popular musical production. Pasolini’s
revolutionary vision allows us to appreciate the human and aesthetic character
of urban life in regions beyond the main urban areas. The respect for subaltern
urban communities encouraged by this book can be extended from Rome to other
parts of the world. This book presents an interconnection of social theory,
geography, poetry, literature, film and the visual arts to study the experience
of life in underprivileged urban areas. Written in an accessible style, the book
offers a reimagining of the Roman periphery which will appeal to readers in
France, Spain, Italy, Australia, areas which have significant interest in
Italian studies and the works of Pasolini.