Saturday, June 20, 2009

Police Raid Piazza Santo Spirito

Empty. That is how Piazza Santo Spirito looked when I entered it from the side street that leads to the front of the church. It was 8:30 p.m. — time for aperitivo. Normally the piazza is bustling with young locals. I looked around for the neighborhood crew. They are not difficult to miss. Some of them with dreadlocks, a mix of African, whites and Italian guys rolling cigarettes and possibly other plants, they are usually sitting with their backs up against the church wall.

But today no one was on the church steps. Instead I saw carabinieri (the Italian police force part of the government's military arm) huddled in a corner of the piazza. An eerie feeling came over me. I thought maybe I missed something. Ever since September, 11 I always prepare myself for any possibility — bomb scares, buildings falling etc.

Then I remembered what my friend had recently told me. He said there was a raid on the piazza recently. First the cops were lingering around and next thing he knew all the entrances, including the main entrance that runs along Via Mazzetta, were blocked by police cars. No one could get out. Then the authorities came around and requested documenti (identification papers) from all the people in the piazza, except those who were dining outdoors at a café or bar. Apparently they were trying to find illegal’s.

“The cop was shocked when my friend (part black part Italian) took out his Italian passport,” my American male friend said.

I should mention to my readers that my American male friend is far left than any communist I have met in Tuscany. Most of the time I strongly disagree with his theories, but he did make me question why the authorities only requested documents from those in the square. Why didn’t they check the identification of the people sitting in the outdoor dining areas of the cafés or trattorias, a space that sits on the sidewalk and part of the square? Is it a question of money? Not wanting to disturb those who are spending it? Or is it assumed that those spending it can afford to, and therefore are most likely not to be an illegal immigrant?

My friend and I discussed if it was legal to search people without probable cause; however he reminded me that although many countries emulate the U.S. model of democracy, they tweak the rules to fit their needs.

A couple of months ago I read in Il Reporter, a local newspaper that covers Firenze by quartiere, that the residents of the Santo Spirito area want to build it up into a posh neighborhood. With Roberto Cavalli calling glitz and glamour at Cavalli Club around the corner they were hoping some of that dough would rub off on the rest of the quartiere. I also met some ladies who live in the square and they spoke of a Santo Spirito committee to clean up and better the neighborhood.

For who? For the people that live in Florence? The people who the police pressured into giving up their identification? Or for the businessmen and politicians who want a piece of the tourist action that takes place across Ponte Vecchio.

It’s true. There are drunks and drugs in the piazza. In the doorways of the homes that make up the border of the square there are always people drinking and once or twice I’ve seen some selling. But they never bother me. This is the place where I go to have a reasonably priced aperitivo not affected by “tourist inflation,” to hang out with friends, and to be surrounded by real Florence. Not the tourist saturated Piazza della Repubblica or Piazza Signoria.

This is a place that is filled with people who live here, alternative Florentines with their thick rimmed glasses and dogs stroll in, the occasionally Brit or American looking for the unconventional sit down at a Café, and the Arabs who meet for business stand around the water fountain that sits in the middle of the square. The church steps are filled with locals drinking beer, putting on fire shows and playing bongos on any given evening, especially during the summer. It’s real.

I am not advocating the drug sales or use, and violence that sometimes takes place here. But how can Santo Spirito be“cleaned up” without losing its life? Why do all have to be punished for what a few do? I fear that if the politicians focus too much on it, they will make it sterile. It could be compared to the rift raft of Times Square replaced by Disney Land during Giuliani’s term. Ask a New Yorker how many times he hangs out in Times Square.

I once read a book that was a compilation of interviews with three famous Italian journalists (of course I don’t remember the name of the book or the journalists). One of the journalists was questioned about his choice to stay in the margins of society. He explained that it was where the action was. To know what was really going on in society one had to be in touch with those who lived outside the mainstream. It is in the margins of society where change and creativity take place. This is why I spend most of my time in Oltrarno and go to Piazza Santo Spirito.

Piazza Santo Spirito is the home of the modern Tuscan hippies and the recent foreigner trying to carve a place. It is the home of the contemporary not the redundant Renaissance. Florence’s now converges there and it would be a shame to see it silenced.

7 comments:

admin said...

I strongly agree with what you say.

As almost-neighbours, have you been following the conflict between the Roberto Cavalli Club in Piazza del Carmine on the one side, and the children and parents of the local kindergarten on the other?

On the odd chance you haven't, we have a blog here

http://florence-threatened-art.blogspot.com/

We'd love your feedback.

Natalie Trusso Cafarello said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Natalie Trusso Cafarello said...

dear admin,

thanks for leaving a comment. i think this brings up a much debated topic about the use of public space,as florence's seems to be shrinking each year. the thing that grabs many about italy is the spacious piazzas, the ornate gardens and other spots where the locals mix.

i have walked past the club many times. each time i wonder who built that entrance. in my personal opinion, it is not the entrance i would have imagined for the cavalli club. it clashes with the piazza.

now that renzi is in office, i hope he will keep his promise to you.

natalie

fromtheworld said...

It seems to me that there is a strong "cleaning activity" going in on in a lot of places around Italy. Not too long ago a friend of mine told me how to "clean" some active square downtown in Padova at the end the product that the administration obtained was a pretty dead city. I think that there should be a distinction between "cleaning" a place from criminal activity, from "cleaning" a place from people who make the place active and energetic.
Lucca was a very nice historic city with a lot of little corners where to hang out in the evening, especially in the summer. Then the administration put so many rules to "improve the city" that at the end any commercial activity is so difficult that only posh people or chain can afford to open something downtown and keep it open. The result? the downtown is growing dead. And it is very sad.

PS. Cavalli is famous for being excessive....

Natalie Trusso Cafarello said...

hi fromtheworld,

the cleaning process that you speak of was already taking place in fi the first summer I visited 2007.

One day, i was buying beer from the chinese store around the corner to drink on the steps of santa croce. i go away for a couple of days, come back and all of sudden, no more bottles were allowed to be sold past 10 p.m.

my friends told me a fight broke out between two men from Morocco on the church steps. They used the glass bottles as weapons. in the end everyone was punished for the fight.

now there are laws prohibiting drinking or eating on church steps. what troubles me, is that no one really knows when the law will be enforced. I still drink on the steps of santo spirito and have not been ticketed yet.

also,because the churches often face a square,the social gathering place,it is typical to sit on the steps to drink, eat and meet friends. being italian of course you know this. but others don't know that this is one of the special past times that makes italy a beautiful country.

natalie

Mary Lynne said...

I am 66 years old, female, and will be coming to Florence alone in September. As it draws closer I'm becoming kind of nervous about the trip and decided to Google info about the area (in Oltrarno) where I will be staying (right off Via Romana about a 10 minute walk from Piazza Spirito). I found your blog and found it interesting and thought provoking, but not too reassuring! I realize this probably isn't the forum for such a question, but do you have any tips about being alone in this area - as a tourist - particularly in the evening? At home, I go all sorts of places alone, but I know my area and what to expect.

I read your profile and think what you're doing is fantastic! Best wishes for achieving your goals...

Natalie Trusso Cafarello said...

hi mary,
i think your comment is exactly why the administration wants to clean it up, maybe when the tourist peeks in late at night, they may decide to skip the piazza. even though it may not be tied up in a neat bow for the tourist, it is safe and everyone minds their own business.

i have never felt anything but secure when i am there. i can sit alone on the steps eating my lunch during the day. or walk around looking for my group of friends at night. i always walk home from the piazza late at night taking the arno to gavinana, and have never felt unsafe.

i love piazza santo spirito it is my home. i hope you will enjoy your stay in fi.

natalie