Where Is Culture in Rome? - Global Rome: Changing Faces of the Eternal City - page 237

for use to social centers in 1995 (Comune di Roma 1995); brancaleone, Corto Cir-
cuito, and torre were among those that benefited from this resolution. legal-
ization means that the owner of the building recognizes a formal association's
right to run activities in the squatted premises and a (usually very low) rent is
agreed for a few years. whether to accept or reject relations, negotiations, and/
or agreements with local authorities has always been an issue that has created
fractures within the movement. from the late 1980s, the Roman social centers
met regularly—regardless of political inclination—in order to work out sched-
ules of events that would prevent competition between them (mudu 2005). This
effort at general coordination came to an end in 1995, though, following fric-
tion caused by disagreement over the legalization of squats by the municipal
government.
The Current situation of Roman social Centers
in the last twenty years, speculation has become primarily about advancing po-
litical gain, on the one hand, and private profit, on the other, making it very
difficult to support the common good as in the past. The current development
of social centers and their capacity for resistance are interesting because they
are again promoting and experimenting with new forms of social relations and
cultural production. approximately thirty-four social centers are now active in
Rome, located mainly in the eastern and southern parts of town, although six
are in central areas (angelo mai, Garage, Rialto, san papier, Villagio Globale,
Volturno occupato) and half of them are now legal.4 Very close to the center, in
the san lorenzo neighborhood, are 32 and esC (or eccedi, sottrai, crea). in the
northeastern areas there are astra19 and Centro Donna lisa. along Via No-
mentana, we find bencivenga 15, brancaleone, la torre, and Casale podere Rosa.
along Via tiburtina are strike, Zona a Rischio, and intifada. in the eastern part
of the city along Via prenestina and Via Casilina are ex snia Viscosa, Casale
Garibaldi, ex Casale falchetti, forte prenestino, Cip (or Centro iniziativa po-
polare), torre maura, and el Chentro sociale. spartaco and Corto Circuito are
located along Via tuscolana. moving from the center of the city toward ostia we
find la strada, acrobax, laurentino occupato, auro e marco, ateneo occupato,
and Zk. on the west side of the tiber River, in the southern part, there are mac-
chia Rossa and Ricomincio dal faro.5 ex 51 is located in the west side of the city,
in the aurelio neighborhood. to complete the picture, it is important to note that
in Rome there is a considerable circuit of bookshops, cafés, and other types of
squatting; for example, there are two squatted student houses point break and
puzzle that network with the social centers.
The current map of social centers is akin to that of institutional left-wing
parties in terms of territorial distribution (the city's east side has traditionally
supported leftist parties), but completely different as far as spatial network mobi-