The Case of the PALIMPSEST Milanese Pilot at the MISERABILIA PRIN Conference “The City of Misery,” October 30-31, 2024

Francesca Berni had the pleasure of presenting her work, “Life’s Irreverent Pulse Thrives: With the River Lambro, a Tribute to the Present Yet to Come.” Drawing from observations of drifting refuse and debris carried by water during one of the three residential workshops of the PALIMPSEST project, she explored the concept of “misery” through the lens of matter’s agency. She aimed to illuminate, within the shadows of marginality, spaces where authentic creative freedom might arise out of necessity.

Water continuously renegotiates the boundaries established by the modern city, often beyond human will and control, and more frequently results in catastrophes that expose human fears and vulnerabilities. The refuse and debris it transports spatially define ecosystems that urban spaces tend to dismiss as inefficient waste. Using cinematic clips, video footage, and diverse literary and scientific references, Francesca sought to broaden perspectives on these marginalized urban fragments, inviting the audience to explore interactions and potential alliances between seemingly distinct and distant entities and worlds.

Questions, ambiguities, and contradictions open up alternative meanings and perspectives. What if, instead of focusing on distinct rivers, we recognize that what materially exists is water itself? What if, rather than a singular conception of time in research practice, we consider a multiplicity of times? Could observing the dynamic flow and “dance” of wasted materials in water reveal new ways of understanding and interacting with the spaces we inhabit? Through an openness to other imaginative worlds, Francesca introduced the audience to the impossible possibility of rethinking and reinhabiting the spaces with a new glance and embodiment.

The conference The City of Misery is an initiative developed within the framework of the PRIN MISERABILIA project. Held at the University of Roma Tre, it was curated by Dario Gentili, Guelfo Carbone, Giulia D’Alia, and Giulia Dettori.

MISERABILIA Research Unit: Principal Investigator Sara Marini, with Associated Investigators Dario Gentili and Federico Rahola.