Res Publica

Fotografia Digitale, Carta Fotografica, 2021

Res publica

“Res publica” is theLatin expression used to indicate the collective aspect of the Stateas institution. The word “republic” itself comes from suchetimology and implies thesense of need of individual participation ineveryday political decisions, even though the representativegovernment system has somehow deprived people from being active andinterested in politics.

The latest hugedemonstrations took place in 1968 and during the Seventies in orderto protest and defend Italy from terrorist attacks during the socalled “anni di piombo”.

In recent years Italy hasbeen through social and economic transformations, which have beenperceived differently by its people. Since 2015 the popular attentiontowards social issues has taken part in active demonstrations onlyfor a small amount of participants, mostly students or workersdirectly affected by negative changes in working conditions.

In 2020 the impact ofthe Covid-19 pandemic on the Italian social system and also onpersonal lives and habits has aroused and increased popularparticipation in collective actions and demonstrations.

“Res publica” is acollection of reportage photography from 2015 to 2021, mainly intowns in central and northern Italy, showing people of different agesinvolved in demonstrations for different issues.

In 2015 in Bologna somestudents were trying to prevent the eviction of an African boy froman occupied abandoned villa in Bologna. The boy had tied a ropearound his neck and to a satellite dish. He threatened to commitsuicide in case of eviction by the police. In the end he will have toleave the house and will be moved to a hotel. The students and somelocal passers-by are the only ones supporting him, the rest of thestreet is empty except for the presence of the police vans.

In 2021 school workers inPisa are demonstrating against the digital distance learning imposedto teachers and students without supporting a reduction of the numberof students per class in order to create a safe environment. The socalled “DAD” (Italian acronym for distance learning didactics)gave students the opportunity to continue their classes, but alsoproduced isolation, a lack of interest in activities and in worstcases depression.

Theatre workers who didnot receive finacial support during the closure of cultural venuesand the almost complete absence of work also took part to thisdemonstration. Only one political party was supporting the workerswith some local representatives and their flags.

In 2021 the reaction of apart of the population against the limitations imposed by theintroduction of the green pass led to weekly protests all over Italysince August for several months.

The number of peopletaking part in these demonstrations definitely increased and thesocial strata of the groups were interwoven. The popularparticipation had increased as it had never happened since theSeventies.

The different layers ofsociety however clashed because the use of public demonstration as ameans of protest had normally been a choice of a limited number ofpeople, or at least of groups identifying with values and socialissued which were somehow focused on minorities or specific socialindentities, but not with common people.

Is our contemporary timeour “res publica”?

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