Carrara: the culture of Giggi er porchettaro

Article originally published on culturainrivera.it

In today’s edition of Buona domenica, the column that has long cheered the day off of La Nazione readers, Cristina Lorenzi states that Carrara’s historic center “will have to be an area in which to invest and bet on for the next administrations” (a refrain that has always been heard in the vicinity of every electoral round) and that “recovery also and above all passes through culture.” These are all shareable concepts: the point is that we should ask ourselves what kind of culture the Carraresi administration should focus on.

Just two days ago, an interesting article came out in the same newspaper, whose anonymous writer claimed that the Carrarese bureaucracy had “crippled” Con_Vivere because of a decision probably deemed improper by the local editorial office of the Florentine newspaper. But what could have been the onerous choice that would have prevented the four-day cultural event from realizing its full potential? Here it is: “the Alberica square, which had been announced as the theater of the market and street food, was in fact almost deserted, since at the last minute from the civic palace came the niet of the offices for the street initiative.” The consequence? “A success halved by bureaucracy” and “disappointment for many citizens who between meetings and conferences and concerts would have liked to enjoy an al fresco dinner.”

Regardless of the fact that Carrara, with all evidence, is not a remote village in Wyoming devoid of establishments within which the ravenous (or at least such according to La Nazione) Con_Vivere attendees can refresh themselves (with a range of possibilities, it should be pointed out, open to all budgets), one would have to wonder meanwhile on what basis the local newspaper goes so far as to venture estimates on theimpact of Con_Vivere even going so far as to speak of “half success” (and all this in an article that came out a few hours after the inauguration!), and especially what kind of consideration the local editorial staff of La Nazione has for the public of culture.

It is worth remembering that Con_Vivere is not the festival of sgabeo. Although the 2016 edition appeared rather underwhelming compared to last year’s (I am only talking about the quality of the events: about the success in terms of the number of visitors will be discussed once the event is over), Con_Vivere nevertheless remains a cultural festival, and those who come to Carrara to enjoy the event probably do so because they are driven by interests in current affairs, philosophy, art, and literature: the porchetta sandwich may be a pleasant side dish for some, but I doubt that even half of the audience (if that is what is meant by “half success”) decides not to go downtown or, at best, to emit discomfiting murmurs of disappointment just because they are deprived of the opportunity to refresh themselves in the center of Carrara’s main square. If one thinks that the public of culture needs Giggi er porchettaro ’s van dispensing biove with sausages and medium beers galore, it is clear that the local editorial staff of La Nazione has its own consideration of the concept of “culture,” or that Carrara should focus on other kinds of initiatives, dedicated more to street food than to literature. It is true that in the press releases of Con_Vivere a corner dedicated to food and market was announced, but to even go so far as to speak of “half success” and “disappointment” for such an absence seems really excessive, not least because, at least last night (Saturday), attendance at the festival events seemed quite high, and because street food lovers are certainly not lacking in opportunities to celebrate their passion (in the last few months alone we have had “Hop Hop Street Food,” “Marina di Carrara International Street Food,” the “Fishermen’s Festival,” as well as assorted festivals and celebrations).

But let us come to the serious considerations. It is obvious that Carrara must focus on culture to make the historic center come alive again (and not just three months a year). But this is not (only) what we should be thinking about. Let us ask ourselves, first of all, if, on the part of the administration, there is the will to implement a change that takes into account a cultural fabric that exists and yet needs to be properly activated and stimulated. And let us ask if the city intends to overcome divisions to think of a model tailored to Carrara, because the basis would be there: the administration, in this sense, has been discontinuous and uncooperative bordering on disastrous, but also the local community has never particularly excelled in its attachment to its city, with the consequence that in Carrara it is much easier to express heated criticism than sincere compliments.

The best instances of restarts and revitalization occur when a community shows itself to be cohesive and willing, due in part to the fact that a united community is able to conduct more pressure on the administration that is responsible for the city’s governance choices. Certainly, in rethinking a new city, one unavoidable condition must be taken into consideration: cities die the moment their inhabitants are expelled or pushed aside, when they are considered only by virtue of the potential attractions they might offer and not as centers inhabited by citizens who live them around the clock, when all social strata concur to populate a downtown.

If we do not reflect on a model, if we do not lay the foundations for the city to overcome barriers and divisions (and fortunately, it is precisely on these issues that Con_Vivere also intends to make people think... ), and if we do not think that at the center of Carrara’s recovery mustbe the city understood in the broadest sense of the term, we will probably continue to think that in order to revitalize the historic center of Carrara, a type of culture that does not serve as an instrument of social cohesion but as mere entertainment to be seasoned with the presence of Giggi er porchettaro or that, even worse, we must imitate the not exactly edifying example of Pietrasanta is unavoidable. And I do not know what is worse between a city that is unable to elaborate a healthy concept of culture and a city prey to the most cynical and ruthless gentrification . All the worse if, as is often the case, the two coincide.

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