Zoning means that some parts of the city, for real estate or urbanistic reasons, are devoted to certain groups of population: if there are neighborhoods where immigrants live, it’s obvious that the schools of these neighborhoods have to cope with much more children born from foreigners. Such is the situation in Torpignattara, in the east periphery of Rome: a primary school is undergoing a series of public debates abounding in words like “ghetto”, “emergency”, “alarm”, “banlieue”. While right and left-wing politicians declare themselves worried for the school’s “italianity”, its teachers are carrying out their work worthy of the best italian pedogogical tradition, using diversity as a resort to supply to the massive cuts and decadence of public education. Until when they will call them “foreigners”? Rome is changing, and while some use this transformation to boost war among the poor, others understood its potential to come through the cultural and political stagnation of the so-called “Italian society”.
- Cecilia BARTOLI (2009) “Integrazione o interazione? Il caso della scuola Pisacane a Roma” in Lo Straniero n.112, october [PDF in italian][spanish translation]
- PHOTOS of Torpignattara, taken by children of Pisacane primary school. From the blog of Pisacane news school newspaper: “Discovering Torpignattara“.
- Documentary “UNA SCUOLA ITALIANA” by Giulio Cederna and Angelo Loy, about Carlo Pisacane primary school. [Webpage of the documentary][trailer in youtube][postcards of the movie
- Two articles by Valeria GARBATI about Torpignattara, in the webpage of Osservatorio Casilino:”Il tempo ritrovato della scuola Pisacane” and “Torpignattara banlieu d’Italia“
- Coro Multietnico Romolo Balzani, directed by Sara Modigliani at Romolo Balzani (Iqbal Masih) junior high school (in the Casilino neighborhood), with the associations Se…sta voce and Circolo Gianni Bosio
- “Roma Forestiera“ ethnomusicological research by Circolo Gianni Bosio, about immigrants’ music in Rome. The first record, “Istaranyeeri”, is about to be published. Listen to a preview at the end of this post
- Documental “NON RUBATECI IL FUTURO” by Margine Operativo [trailer from youtube] about the struggle of Romolo Balzani (Iqbal Masih) junior high school, in the Casilino neighborhood, that after a hard work to include the children from the gypsy camp of Casilino 90, had been leading a long struggle against massive cuts to public education
- Romolo Balzani, the roman folksinger who gives name to both the school and the choir, sang a famous version of Roma forestiera (Libianchi/Granozio), also sung by Gabriella Ferri.
“I’m a foreigner, I’m a guest in Italy. I run to school to learn Italian. I’m African, I run from animals carrying weapons. We are not African, we are not European, where are we all from?” Geedi Kuule Yusuf, “Istaranyeeri baan ahaayo” (Soy extranjero), preview from the record “Istaranyeeri” to be published soon by Circolo Gianni Bosio
[audio:https://periferiesurbanes.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/GeediKuuleYusuf_2011_Istarannyeri_baan_ayahoo.mp3]