Paper short abstract:

The paper looks at re-imaging and re-conceptualization of post-industrial areas, i.e. Testaccio in Rome, by tracing its narrative in relation to the present-day objectified representations and codifications used and produced by the agents and actors.

Paper long abstract:

Space is a mutable and ever-changing product of economic, social, cultural and political processes. The forms people build, whether in the imagination or on the ground, arise from their current involvement with the surroundings. Memory understands space as a composite of instants from different times, where history works in opposition to a sense of temporal development. In the age of post-industrialism 'synthesis' or 'hybridization' of the old and the new is at the fore. There is a re-discovery of territorial identities, local traditions and local histories. The attempt to recover 'real' aura becomes an important force, creating the desire for authenticity. An increased emphasis on sustainable conservation allows a connection with evidence of the past woven into the contemporary built environment. The paper looks at what is crucial in current re-imagining of post-industrial areas referring to the area of Testaccio in Rome, i.e. the ex-slaughterhouse (Mattatoio di Testaccio) and "La Città dell'Altra Economia". It explores the transformation of the emotional links regarding the site by tracing its narrative in relation to the present-day representation.

The way an individual mentally processes what is perceived through one's senses is to a large extent socially mediated. The codifications and the objectified representations used and produced by the agents and actors are of particular interest, as they are the necessary factors for re-imagination and re-conceptualization of places.