The Caserme Rosse Barracks, from Transit Camp to the Present: Notes about its Architecture and the Meanings of the Place

For some time now, passing through the main gate to the park of the former Caserme Rosse on the northern outskirts of the city of Bologna has not provided shelter from the roar of lorries travelling on the ring road or the squeal of brakes and the hum of car engines on Via di Corticella. Even after entering and crossing a stretch of the large, bare lawn dotted with a few trees, the noises are just barely muffled. Thus also the view across the horizon catches only a fragmentary glimpse of the landscape dominated by cars, trucks, petrol stations, a sports centre and supermarkets. Only to the east can you glimpse the edges of an agricultural vista and, to the north, the only other green part, but still related to the traffic, is the embankment of the ring road. All the same, when the weather is good and the pandemic rules allow it, the lawn is populated by locals: the desolate clearing turns into a playground and the benches serve as places of rest for passers- by and the homeless, or, in the most secluded areas of the park, drug dealers and prostitutes. From inside a low red- brick building to the south, the only building in this public garden, come the cries of those who frequent the ARCI social club, the shouts of those fervently following a football game or the sound of balls smashing together during a carom billiards match.