Piotr Stachurski - Town as a Place of Dialogue

Piotr Stachurski

Town as a Place of Dialogue

Reflections inspired by selected Theses from
The "Manifesto of The Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco"

in the draft of the "Manifesto" we can read the following: (...) the tourist that is always in a hurry, generally is not interested in establishing relations of friendship with the people of the town. All the exchanges (words, looks, etc.) are only technical for business convenience (to buy and to sell) and result is as oil into water: no integration. The town which receives the visitors is in a working process, is business oriented and sometimes is limited business minded. (…) we suffer the tourism, because we do not manage it for the best result for citizens. For foreign visitors and, first of all, for the future of our historic towns that – year by year – can become a large Museum for visitors, but no more the town for their citizens, hence non more town!

In this moment it seems necessary to go back to the beginning of the idea of the town.

"TOWN" was a place, clearly distinguished from the outside, perceived as the ocean of chaos expanding around. It was an enclosed area of a well ordered Inside, named (possible to identify) through the system of correlated signs, ordered according to adequate hierarchy and connected exclusively to the mentioned place. A ring 0f city walls forms a visible border-line between the inside and the outside. There was a symbolic parallel between the town and the world as a whole (Universum). A visitor arriving from the outside, when passing a city gate, is aware of entering an enclosed "world" different from his own but arranged according to similar principles, for this reason comprehensible. Experience of his own "well-ordered world" helps a visitor to understand a "world" visited. Inversely: dissimilarity of various visited "world" helps him to confirm his consciousness of identity.

Nowadays the original conception of the town was replaced by the idea of the open town (open city) City walls, if preserved, become reduced to a tourist attraction only. There is no border between the inside and the outside Contemporary town (city) is possible to enlarge its area with no limits. There are no more separated towns, defined as various symbolic parallels of the world (The Universe). Exactly, the world became a Global City or, more adequately, a Global Village. The ocean of chaos may penetrate the formerly closed space of the town. This is not a problem of material border between the town and it’s outside. It's a problem of semiotic chaos of contemporary world. Identity of a certain distinguished and named place was replaced by The Global Identity. Modern town (city) is everywhere, hence nowhere. Also traditional signs of its spatial identity lost their original meanings.

For a common present-day tourist the majestic dome of Santa Maria del Fiore is not an ideal, perfectly constructed image of The Universe, making Florence the only, recurring place in the world. Intellectual poverty does not allow him to compare the Brunelleschi's masterpiece with something adequate. Unfortunately, for him this is only a flash picture possible to buy in his travel office or a trademark, connected with a week tour to Italy equally as the McDonald’s trademark is connected with a hamburger. According to such axiology, a value of anything could be expressed only by means of money and also: everything could be valuated by means of money. From such point of view it is not of place to compare a contact with a masterpiece of art with a fast-food lunch, if their prices are comparable.

The experience of the nations under totalitarian systems is different from described above, but also, I'm afraid, from suggested in The Manifesto. Axiological chaos of the West was not perceived as something opposite to "ancient values" just "frozen". People from behind The Iron Curtain perceived The West as something true, friendly and well-ordered and opposed its multicolored variability to the ashen monotony and desolation of their "people's democracies". Everything in this world was apparent (...) including money (!). Of course our money of those days, had nothing to do with "The True Money" from the West. Fortunately at the end of the eighties totalitarianism itself appears apparent.

A model socialist town was ordered, but it was not well-ordered because it was not ordered for the citizens but for imposed and not wanted ideology, thus against the citizens. In the world of decreed monotony and unification chaos seems to humanize the anti-human order. In The People's Republic of Poland spontaneous individualism leading usually to considerable mess was reaction against imposed socialization. A daub became somewhat justified as a spontaneous reaction against monotony. As soon as Poland became a normal country, this spontaneous individualism transformed into well known in The West "normal" selfishness. Just so we are an integral part of the Global Village with all its problems to be solved. The unique experience of Polish "Solidarity" was an experience of solidarity against, very difficult to be transformed into solidarity for.

I realize that presented vision is somewhat exaggerated, but it's very difficult to avoid exaggeration when generalizing.

What we are to do? I think that The Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation chose a proper strategy.

Firstly: the Culture is indeed a key to integration, to dialogue (very adequate word if understood according to its Greek etymology).

Secondly: if the international Integration is to be built through the Culture, through the consciousness of cultural identity, through recovering or reconstructing of such consciousness, it will not be a task appropriate for a mass movement but for small groups of people well or at least somewhat educated in this matter.

A traditionally defined TOWN should be an appropriate place for the dialogue based on the Culture. But what does it mean now? I think that it means, that participants of such dialogue should be able to understand the original semiotic code connected with idea of the town (or at least to be ready to learn it). Undoubtedly it would help them to understand each other. A real town, chosen for a place of integration may help in all these aims. From such point of view Florence seems to be one of the best places in the world.