A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #36-25 - The Torn Curtain. Carrara - Politeama Theater: Public Plunder for Private Use (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On Thursday, November 27, the Politeama Committee, founded by the 
Germinal-FAI Group about thirty years ago, was invited to an 
institutional roundtable to discuss the fate of the building. Let's 
reassure comrades: we haven't become property developers, but for those 
who don't know, we were invited because the building, built in 1899, 
houses a theater, and the large 19th-century hall, the theater's foyer, 
was assigned to anarchists by the CLN for their contribution to the 
Resistance and Liberation struggle.
It was in this theater, on September 19, 1945, that the FAI was founded, 
and it is in that hall that our group is based, as well as the Germinal 
Archive, which collects publications and various materials related to 
the anarchist movement.

The building is private, but the theater is protected by public 
interest, and the foyer is owned by the municipality.

Following the property speculation that plagued the theater since the 
late 1980s and, with the acquiescence of municipal administrations, led 
to the construction of apartments almost up to the stage, the theater 
was first reduced to 100 seats (it had 2,400), then closed, and then the 
pillars began to collapse under the weight of the additions and pouring, 
aimed at profiting even by the square centimeters, to the point of 
actual collapses. All of this was documented and reported by the Committee.

The building is now unsafe and under seizure, and just the day after the 
latest foreseeable damage to a pillar, the mayor convened the Committee, 
along with condominium owners, condominium administrators, and 
representatives of Caprice, the company responsible for the devastation, 
which was also endorsed by the municipality.

Our first reaction when we received the invitation was surprise, because 
over the years, the institutions have never taken us into consideration 
when they had to address the issue, except for two occasions: when the 
court decided to include in the records our first video, "A Story of 
Love and Anarchy," which, without false modesty, we believe to be still 
the clearest and most accessible explanation available regarding the 
origins of the problem (and its sequel, "Chains and Hats," both 
available on YouTube), and when Mayor Zubbani established a monitoring 
commission of which we were a member, but which quickly proved to be a 
worthless sop.
We were therefore very happy to participate in that discussion, because 
we believe that in matters that directly affect the life of a community, 
the presence of the ears, eyes, and voices of those who live it outside 
of utilitarian logic, whether related to profit or political consensus, 
is indispensable.

The fact that Caprice, a key player in this matter, officially decided 
not to participate precisely because of our presence, yet was present in 
the room in various capacities with some of its representatives, makes 
it clear to us that they aren't interested in engaging with the 
citizens. This is likely due to our longstanding habit of dismantling 
their theses and proclamations without rhetorical or populist artifice, 
but through facts, correlations, and sometimes with banal two-step logic.
But they claim it's simply hatred and resentment toward them...which, in 
fact, would be decidedly unfounded and unfounded, right?
In any case, we left the meeting satisfied, but not reassured.
Satisfied that a municipal administration has finally understood that it 
can't address the current emergency by settling for a few props and a 
couple of bags of plaster, because the Politeama is a unique system, 
which currently presents structural problems on three sides, and must be 
addressed as such. We are pleased that it is finally clear that the 
public safety issue surrounding a crippled mastodon in the city center, 
and in a market area, cannot be underestimated as has been done so far. 
The Administration has decided to take a "forceful" approach in this 
direction, asserting its mandate-something we have been requesting for 
decades, apparently without any permanent impact on municipal coffers 
because the burden is private. We are pleased that the Administration 
has recognized that what remains of the theater inside the building must 
be maintained and reopened (it has been clear for some time that it can 
never be what it was, but so be it). We are pleased that the 
Administration has clarified that the portion of the condominium in its 
possession (the foyer and some adjacent rooms), once everything is 
restored, will return to the anarchists and continue to house the 
Germinal Archive.
In short, the mayor declared that we're at year zero, which for us is 36 
AD (after Caprice), and we can only decide to believe her.
She says... but then what is it that doesn't reassure you?
We're not reassured by Caprice's placid compliance with shouldering all 
these expenses (she wasn't at that table but was supervising, she didn't 
listen, but had her say, she wasn't there but existed), because ours 
isn't resentment, but rather the awareness that, leafing through the 
files in our archives, Caprice's proclamations have always gone in that 
direction, but have never materialized; on the contrary, they have 
always been aimed at avoiding a showdown: "We will give the city a 
theater back" appears as a four-column headline in a 2006 newspaper article.
We're not reassured by the fact that we know that municipal 
administrations, beyond the commitments made in the heat of emotion and 
to reassure voters and silence opposition, almost always find it 
expedient to bow to the capitalist logic of which Caprice is a very 
clear representative.
Having said all this, we have a new meeting in February, where we'll 
learn a little more and see how far we've taken the step and whether it 
will be forward, sideways, or backward, waiting for Caprice to decide to 
grow up and assume its responsibilities, ceasing to be the ghost 
hovering in a Theater that exists but isn't.

We believe that this story, in addition to directly affecting us, is 
emblematic of the long arm of the plundering of the public for private 
gain, and we are organizing a call to citizens, who too often fall 
asleep in the long run, to try to strike while the iron is hot and 
ensure that from there comes the push for a change of perspective that 
is the only true social engine of any social achievement.

Pro.Zac.

https://umanitanova.org/il-sipario-strappato-carrara-teatro-politeama-depredazione-pubblica-per-uso-privato/
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