Rossi, Maddalena; Zetti, Iacopo (2018). In mezzo alle cose. Città e spazi interclusi. Firenze: Università degli Studi di Firenze, ISBN:9788833380469
The two-volume book can be viewed and downloaded from the Didapress website. Registration is required, but it is completely free. If you are interested, click on the title or image.
The book recounts a research project that focused on ‘in-between spaces’. These are places on the fringes of urban centres or even within them; patches of countryside that have escaped development; small plots that disrupt the flow of buildings that have invaded the valley floor; errors in rational planning; spaces abandoned by productive activities; sections of infrastructure and services that are no longer in use; construction sites or unfinished buildings; and many other pieces of a puzzle that the text will attempt to assemble. Like a jigsaw puzzle, these pieces have no meaning when taken individually, but only when fitted together into an overall picture.
Usually described as backwaters, analysed as opportunities to exploit land rent or viewed as places of decay, here they become focal points in a comprehensive discussion about their nature and the opportunities they offer for creating breathing space within a pervasive urban fabric. Thus, this volume not only addresses the usefulness of interpreting these enclosed spaces, but also a philosophy capable of constructing an alternative to the submergence of areas not yet definitively built upon.