La centralità del margine

Our time is characterised by a profound deterritorialisation, i.e. we no longer know how to read places, we do not know the historical processes that have generated them, we do not remember the action carried out by the generations that preceded us in the genesis of the contemporary landscape. In this perspective, geography must recover a central role in interpretation and knowledge. In particular, urban margins are a context of interest, as they have lost their geo-historical identity, characterising themselves as places of cultural isolation and social segregation. The case of Brescia and Bergamo, sister cities but different, is characterised by the presence of protected areas in their respective suburbs, the ancient Corpi Santi in Bergamo, the Chiusure in Brescia. The parks are the fruit of political-administrative and cultural paths that, in 2021, led to a fruitful discussion between the Bergamo Park Executive, the representatives of the Plis delle colline di Brescia and the councillors of the two cities, which resulted (thanks to the scientific support of the Centro studi sul territorio ‘Lelio Pagani’, of the University of Bergamo) in the drafting of the Bergamo-Brescia Charter of peri-urban protected areas.