La via Zamboni una narrazione

The perception of urban space, in its whole complexity, is inevitably affected by the time-related stratification of historical meanings, ideologies, archetypes and utopias which have been used during the centuries by society to consolidate the idea of settlement. In the contemporary world, the city as a story to be told is often superimposed on the city as a real, material entity, organising and synthesising the interpretative processes of the urban circuits; therefore the city’s mindscape, a projection of its urban cultures and souls, becomes central in comparison with its cityscape, the architectural landscape.Taking this into consideration, this contribution intends to analyse the communication processes and the media paradigms at work when sketching urban dynamics, examining the tools and codes used to design and narrate the story of a city. Our case study is the peculiar situation evolved around the University District in Via Zamboni, Bologna; at the very heart of the city, filled with architectural beauty and social vitality, nevertheless via Zamboni does not project a positive image among the public. Through the examination of some of the most eventful historical moments that took place in the area and the analyses of the narrative journey which Via Zamboni has undertook over the years, we will try to suppose how to create a multilayered tale of a city area, narrated with the aid of signs and images extracted from a wide array of media: written texts, photographs, paintings, films or social networks.