Where The Salt Water Meets The Fresh: Idroscalo, The Last Big Self-Built Neighborhood In Rome

Abstract

Idroscalo is a self-built settlement that developed after World War II on the last strip of the Roman periphery of Ostia near the mouth of the river Tiber. As in similar areas around the world, many residents reject the official discourse that depicts the neighborhood as illegal to legitimate demolitions and evictions. Instead, they represent their territory as a welcoming area which enables them to face the social and economical hardships of urban life in ways that would be impossible to hold in more formal parts of the city. Idroscalo helps us to discuss the "hidden history" of self-construction in Rome, shedding light on how evictions and displacement from self-built areas in Rome since the Seventies betrayed residents' expectations and produced often very negative results.