EÍDOS 20

Resumen:

Este trabajo pretende proponer una reexión sobre

cómo está reaccionando la ciudad de Roma ante las

consecuencias sociales y urbanas provocadas por la

situación de pandemia. Partiendo del análisis de la

densicación y la hiperdensicación urbanas -y de

de consecuencias inciertas: por un lado, la pérdida

de atractivo urbano podría sugerir un progresivo

“abandono” de las grandes ciudades; por otro, las

ciudades podrían tener que enfrentarse a la necesidad

de frenar los fenómenos de dispersión y promover una

mayor densicación del perímetro urbano.

Además, la pandemia está mostrando cómo, en la base

de la emergencia, hay un problema de espacios y que

más allá del distanciamiento social, que acabará como

empezó el contagio, será tarea del arquitecto ayudar a

Abstract:

This paper aims to propose a reection on how the city of

Rome is reacting to the social and urban consequences

caused by the pandemic situation. Starting from the

analysis of urban densication and hyper-densication

–and their correlations with globalism– the paper also

progressive “abandonment” of large cities; on the other

hand, cities may have to deal with the need to stop

sprawl phenomena and promote greater densication

of the urban perimeter.

Furthermore, the pandemic is showing how, at the

and that beyond the social distancing, which will end

as the contagion began, it will be the architect’s task

to help the community to overcome the memory of the

trauma experienced, leading to a greater awareness of

marco.falsetti@uniroma1.it, ORCID: 0000-0002-0483-9212

2Adjunt Professor, Researcher Department DiAP, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome,

FALSETTI, M., CIOTOLI, P. - Post COVID Rome: “Being in the World” and Urban Metabolism. pp. 03-12 ISSN:1390-5007

century civilization, both as regards its

relational dynamics and its socioeconomic

phenomena. Density was the premise and

the engine responsible for the creation

of large commercial and nancial hubs -

settlement models disconnected from the

territory on which they insist-and, at the

same time, the incubator of much of the

anti-urban thought of the last 10 years (that

to whom we owe the “green rediscovery”

hyper-density and abandonment of the

territory. However, although the signs of a

cultural crisis —even in part triggered by this

dialectic— had already appeared for some

time (well represented by the fears of hyper-

tourism in Rome and Venice for which no

solution proved to be feasible), they were the

nightmares of the economic recession and

the ghost of widespread poverty to make

a reection on the anthropic structuring of

cities such as Shenzhen, Chongqing

and Hong Kong —engines of hyper-

urban development whose exponential

growth it has always been linked to the

capitalist transformations of the last

twenty years— today appear increasingly

“distant” from a possible evolutionary

horizon. The pandemic phenomenon

thus risks catalyzing two trends currently

at an embryonic stage in Europe and, in

particular, in Italy, generating a scenario

with uncertain consequences: on the one

hand, the loss of urban attractiveness-with

the worsening of its disadvantages - could

suggest a progressive “abandonment”

of large cities, giving life to a landscape

of large contemporary collectors, from

cities may have to deal with the need

to deliver services to distant sectors) and

perimeter (and this for reasons of the fact

that the crisis has shown how the peripheral

suburbs are —in fact— lacking in services,

also revealing the limits of the “civilization

of the car”). This condition must also be

linked to the contrast between identity and

specicity of the territories, a bitter contrast

especially in recent years.

«What we recognize today as

images of contemporaneity. This multiplicity

of connections and meanings makes it

difcult, at rst glance, to recognize shared

characteristics and values within a highly

globalized world such as the one we live in.

To this it must be added that the dualism

of identity / homologation is not perceived,

in all areas, in equal measure; the recent

reconstructions in Germany and Eastern

Europe testify, in this regard, a feeling linked

far from the sensitivity of other contexts»

been almost completely capitalized by

phenomena opposite to those mentioned: the

abandonment of internal territories and the

progressive depopulation of areas which, by

now, had lost their historical weight. Think, in

this sense, of the research conducted by the

ISSN:1390-5007 FALSETTI, M., CIOTOLI, P. - Post COVID Rome: “Being in the World” and Urban Metabolism. pp. 03-12

EÍDOS 20

Politecnico di Milano on the theme of Fragile

Territories, exhibited during the “Biennale

Session. Fragile territories. Risk as an

opportunity for change” in the 2018 edition

of the Venice Biennale, collective events that

have had an echo at a national level through

a communication also addressed to those

outside the world of architecture. Even before

the health emergency the communicative

aspect of sociability and academic research

dialogue and an exchange in the places

—almost paradoxically— to a reduction in

communication that the internet should

the communication of architectural research,

this time within the virtual walls of tools such

as Zoom, Google Meet and other platforms.

On the one hand, we have the impossibility

of simultaneously following the events that

take place, at the same time, on different

platforms, with different listeners. On the

other hand, the serious difculty of proposing

a confrontation in simultaneous moments,

and this due not only to possible connection

The transformation of the urban

landscape, understood in its twofold civil

and social instance, and the modication

of the instruments of anthropic

communication (with a migration of the

dialectic between the actors within a

sphere which, on the one hand, increases

the character of simultaneity of events, on

the other hand it nullies the metabolization

of its contents, dispersed among dozens

at the basis of a transformation that could

This analysis, drawn up two years

after the start of the pandemic - with some

critical issues still ongoing - intends to

return, as far as possible, the situation in

Rome in relation to the impact it had on the

usability of the architectural heritage and

cultural tourism. The specic conditions of

the Roman context were affected by the

vertical collapse of the tourism sector on

a national scale: if in fact «in 2019, tourism

in Italy had set its historical record; had

reached 436.74 million presences (+ 1.8

% compared to 2018) and 131.38 million

following of the pandemic which resulted

arrivals and 52.3 % in the number of nights

As for the capital, the portrait that

of a city that has only partially recovered

its previous structure, with almost all the

central districts (except for the triangle

between the Pantheon, Piazza Navona

and Trevi Fountain) deserted at night.

The gentrication process, underway for

several years in the historic center and

progressively extended to the areas close

to the Aurelian walls, has also shown,

on the occasion of the pandemic, the

deserts urban fabrics and economies

favoring a mono-culture of activities “at

the service” of tourists. In this sense, what

Rem Koolhaas afrmed in the early 2000s

appears emblematic: «Europe is destined

to become a machine for mass tourism,

for the use and consumption of the whole

world. She is deputed to represent culture.

All the more reason, therefore, to celebrate

the contemporary. It is evident, in fact,

will be increasingly oppressive, present

these two ages of the city» (Chaslin, 2003,

p. 58).

FALSETTI, M., CIOTOLI, P. - Post COVID Rome: “Being in the World” and Urban Metabolism. pp. 03-12 ISSN:1390-5007

The Covid-19 pandemic, of which

we are still experiencing the long aftermath,

seems to have temporarily overshadowed

a whole series of disciplinary problems

that had dramatically worsened in recent

years. The reference is naturally to the

phenomenon of over-tourism, prophetically

anticipated by Rem Koolhaas, which

with its unsustainable numbers and

associated processes (gentrication,

The rise of mass tourism (in its many

group trips) to a social paradigm of the

geographically homogeneous travelers

(Brazilians, Indians, Chinese, etc.), has

increased exponentially the pressure on

the infrastructures and historical fabrics

of European countries, destabilizing the

fragile balances that guaranteed their

quality of life.

Although over-tourism is, at the

level of scientic literature, a phenomenon

that is now widely debated, in practical

accommodation facilities) besiege the

historic centers. Covid seems to have

overturned the perspective of ows but

not that of the processes that seem to lead

univocally towards an inevitable crisis in

the management models of tourist cities.

The destruction of entire urban pieces

can in fact also occur through a slow

process of zeroing out cultural values. a

condition currently experienced by the

about fty years, the historicized fabric

the residential function have been almost

completely replaced by the massive

presence of tourists and the corollary of

shops and occupations that have sprung

up to satisfy their needs. Now that this

model is entering a deep crisis (with the

closure of hotels, large franchises, b & bs)

the pause imposed on us by Covid could

offer the opportunity to rethink the role

of historic centers by setting their rebirth

on the basis of a criterion that tends to

reactivate its life cycles as some cities in

Northern Europe have essentially begun

to do, which have limited the number and

type of activities in historic centers with

a high tourist impact. For some years

days in which each house can be rented

consists of a maximum of 120 days per

have been issued since 2014. Perhaps the

advertising slogans of the ‘Bilbao effect’

or the Barcelona model (which are now

displeasing all and which have become

synonymous with negative trends) and to

look towards a new season.

After all, it is good to remember how:

«the territory is the eld in which our total life,

subconscious and aware, of spontaneous

awareness and self-awareness, takes

world, insofar as we admit its continuity,

that is, the solidarity participation of every

sector (outside of dissociating phenomena,

which , without excluding them, we must

give as abnormal and external to social

life)” (Muratori, 1967, p. 194).

As regards mobility and tourist

ows in the capital, with the exception of

the tangible aspects, it is necessary to

monthly by the various observatories and

immediately connected to this (full taxi

stands, ease of reservations in restaurants

and museums, etc.), there it is a whole

series of other data, such as those related

to transport, which can only be understood

if related to an extra-urban dimension.

ISSN:1390-5007 FALSETTI, M., CIOTOLI, P. - Post COVID Rome: “Being in the World” and Urban Metabolism. pp. 03-12

EÍDOS 20

The recent Report of the

Observatory on Mobility Trends, prepared

by the Technical Mission Structure of MIMS

(Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable

Mobility), for example, recorded that

the level of road transport of goods and

passengers in Italy has now returned to

pre-pandemic levels, while rail transport,

passenger air transport and local public

transport are struggling to recover from

companies (both public and private) are

their employees, the trafc of passengers

covid period.2 This condition is affected

has led public transport operators (local

and national) to focus on a reduction in the

number of journeys / convoys to cope with

the loss of income deriving from passenger

The Censis report “Italy under stress.

Diary of transition 2020/21”, published in

April this year, highlighted how « (...) the

spread of smart working, the systematic use

cities and some tourist resorts. A gradual

repositioning with a exible offer that will

adapt to new needs, giving up speed

peaks but connecting many centers without

intermediate changes, thus providing

concrete support to local economies».3

In the rst half of 2021 Rome

gradually began to repopulate and,

with the exception of the center, the

Nomentano and the part of Trastevere

the bleak void of 2020. The occasion of

the prolonged stoppage of activities has

led some companies to start restructuring

or retting cycles of the ofces, such as

the Enel of Viale Regina Margherita. The

headquarters of the company, which

housed 3,000 employees on a total area

of about 80 thousand square meters (and

on which a large part of the economy of

the surrounding area depended, which

over time became increasingly linked to

the complex), is in fact currently affected

by a radical redesign intervention by the

Viel and Citterio studio. The project by the

Milanese studio aims to implement the idea

of a “building-city” in which the prismatic

transparency of the envelope, opening the

ofces: in December 2021, Federalberghi

Christmas period, with a worsening trend.

This situation worsened further following

the crisis in Ukraine, with numerous

cancellations by Eastern European tourists.

Already from the analysis “Scenario and

prospects of recovery of the tourism supply

chain in Rome and Lazio” presented by

Intesa Sanpaolo and Studies and Research

for the South, it was found that, in 2020

«tourism demand in Rome had decreased

of the turnover of companies in the “core”

sector of the Roman tourism chain, with

a negative impact on GDP of -1.97 %»4.

The shy optimism of the early autumn

months therefore seems threatened by

the gradual worsening of the situation in

2022, nevertheless many citizens - who

have begun to perceive covid as a long-

lasting problem - try to live the city’s

opportunities as much as possible, as

shops in the center in January 2022. What

FALSETTI, M., CIOTOLI, P. - Post COVID Rome: “Being in the World” and Urban Metabolism. pp. 03-12 ISSN:1390-5007

high number of people in smart working.

Furthermore, due to the heterogeneity

of the architectures, generations and

institutions that work in the management

of the museum heritage, the case of the

Capital allows for a specic reection on

the reconguration of the exhibition and

fruition spaces in a logic of distancing and

exibility of the workplace.

scale, on the national system are in fact well

March to May 2020 and subsequently from

forms of use of the galleries, exhibition

outlining innovative information campaigns

and cultural promotion. Moreover, as a

recent report by ICOM (International Council

of Museum) pointed out that «(...) since May

2020, worldwide, all museums and places of

culture have had to reduce (or in any case

modify) their activity drastically of 95 %».6

Similar data are present in a report

published by the Archaeological Park of the

compared to 2017, in 2020 it saw a lack

of over 5 million visitors and an economic

loss of about 51 million euros due to lack

of ticketing revenues. The long period of

closure of the PArCo (...), as well as other

places of culture, caused a sudden halt in

the intense program of enhancement».7

In addition to the decrease in

tourism, these places had to adopt safety

time, for visitors. The Archaeological Park

support on two fronts: from a technical-

scientic and training point of view, for the

implementation of the measures necessary

for safe use and from a health point of view,

with a monitoring open daily from 9.00 to

19.00 for the management of visitors who

Roman koiné, which has always exported

typologies and models that are susceptible

to modication with respect to social and

landscape contexts. It is no coincidence

that, as Alberto Ferlenga noted, «(...) we

can still observe today how the typical

gures of the urban world brought from

Rome, have mixed with other geographies

and cultures, generating extraordinary

forms of adaptation —“recognizable

in the same regions, by colonial powers or

of specic conditions and the “resilient”

among the highest among those produced

inuenced a vast area of the Mediterranean

but which , even at home, has constituted

an indelible character, renewing itself with

the Renaissance city and arriving, albeit

with difculty, up to us» (Ferlenga, 2021,

pp. 11-12).

fabric and on the museum system, with the

aim of favoring possible solutions. Rome is

in fact the city where the greatest number

of architectural and archaeological assets

in the world is quantitatively concentrated;

this heritage inherited from the past is «(...)

largely integrated into the life of the city; not

only a “monument” to visit and admire, but

still used for public, collective and private

functions (...)».5 From this statement, a

is what are the concrete possibilities of

ISSN:1390-5007 FALSETTI, M., CIOTOLI, P. - Post COVID Rome: “Being in the World” and Urban Metabolism. pp. 03-12

EÍDOS 20

are “feverish” with codied procedures,

and the activation of surveillance on

any suspicious cases, as well as a more

general rst aid intervention in case of

The architect should therefore

resume his “historical role”, namely that of

suggesting the way to organically experience

space, otherwise we will all be citizens

Florence, Naples and others have almost

of going to the theater, enjoying cinema

crisis following the pandemic, proposed

world. If in fact there are many online

exhibitions-organized not only by important

museums (such as, for example, the Roman

MAXXI and its constant commitment through

book presentations on the YouTube channel

as well as podcasts dedicated to individual

works exhibited within its spaces) but even

by individual artists through tools such

as Artsteps, etc. - it is interesting to focus

on other activities, which have involved a

Museum of XXI Century Arts MAXXI valid for

about 100 years.9 The campaign’s attempt

—that was very successful—10 is to “give

condence” and concrete possibilities to art,

believing in its immortal value.

It is interesting to underline how,

unlike the advertising campaigns of large

institutional museums, part of Rome’s

cultural life is increasingly characterized by

In this case, we refer to associations, study

a really interesting and decidedly counter-

current phenomenon, among which it was

decided to cite two cases that show how

these centers have been able to activate,

around them, part of the citizenship and the

neighbourhood. The rst example is that of

an art gallery, “Embrice 2030”, founded in

2007 by Professor Carlo Severati and located

in the Garden City of Garbatella. As reported

on the gallery’s website, “Embrice” is a «(...)

space for study, debate and proposals

around the themes of architecture, literature,

arts, communication, education, culture in

general».11 During the rst lockdown, the

gallery decided to promote some studies

and project proposals on the area of the Torre

depth animations, planimetric drawings and

and reading of the physical consistency

citizens.12

Subsequently, “Embrice” managed

to resume with exhibitions and initiatives

dedicated, specically, to personalities and

topics “forgotten” by ofcial culture, who

dealt with the integral relationship between

art, architecture and design. This was the

case of the rst Embrice exhibition of the year

2021, dedicated to Paola d’Ercole, architect

and artist, focused on an “unedited” part of

her production, carried out in a fairly long

surroundings, and the territory. Within narrow

limits: acid rains, like those in the Ruhr or

Padania, and several pipelines of fossil fuel

arriving from everywhere constitute a heavy

condition for Europe. The architectural or

environmental design invention includes a

denition of a new development model».13

FALSETTI, M., CIOTOLI, P. - Post COVID Rome: “Being in the World” and Urban Metabolism. pp. 03-12 ISSN:1390-5007

ISSN:1390-5007 FALSETTI, M., CIOTOLI, P. - Post COVID Rome: “Being in the World” and Urban Metabolism. pp. 03-12

EÍDOS 20

Caniggia G., Maffei, G. C. (2001).

Cannata M. (2020), La città per l’uomo ai

tempi del Covid-19. La Nave di Teseo.

Chaslin F. (2003), Architettura© della

Ciotoli, G. (2017). Dal grattacielo al Tessuto

urbani. Ofcina edizioni.

critiche fra identità e omologazione.

omologazione, 59(XXI), 6-9.

Coppa A. (2020). Architetture dal futuro.

Visioni contemporanee sull’abitare. 24 Ore

Cultura.

Falsetti M. (2017), Annodamenti. La

Gurian E. H. (2022). Centering the

translated by Macquarrie J., Robinson E.

Koolhaas, R., Boeri S., Kwinter, S., Tazi, N.

y Obrist H. U. (2000). Mutations. Actar.

Maretto P. (1993). Realtà naturale e realtà

costruita. Altralinea.

FALSETTI, M., CIOTOLI, P. - Post COVID Rome: “Being in the World” and Urban Metabolism. pp. 03-12 ISSN:1390-5007