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Paper short abstract:

"Giardinetto" is a contested public space in the heart of the historic city of Koper/Capodistria (Slovenia) currently awaiting a thorough renewal. The paper discusses affective atmospheres, heritage dissonance, multiple publics, and possible futures of this heritage site.

Paper long abstract:

The presentation derives from the research of "Giardinetto", a square in the heart of the historic city of Koper/Capodistria (Slovenia). The site is an open public space, currently with no official name. It served as a parking lot for several decades until the beginning of 2022. However, the site is permeated by various historical uses, cultural practices, affects, and meanings while awaiting a thorough renewal. Because of the turbulent 20th-century history and significant demographic changes within the region, the town of Koper itself is a contested landscape.

The research relied on the ethnographic methods of studying space (mapping, participant observation, interviews, historical sources), participant action research, and the photo-voice method. The material was analyzed through constituency analysis and thematic coding. The qualitative methodology provided the insights into the place attachment processes and affective atmospheres remembered or lived in the space. The research aimed to understand the complexities and layers of this historic urban space, particularly its contested nature (ethnicity, class, gender, economic activities, usage, etc.) and affects and emotions attached to the site while questioning heritage dissonance and multiple publics as well as discussing possible futures.

This case study is a work in progress; research results are currently presented to the local community. The site is perceived as an urban heritage, and its renewal is discussed on various levels. These discussions also produce a particular affective atmosphere of the site that will be constitutive for Giardinetto's future.