"Veiled Cities" at Oxford University, September 26-27, 2024

I’m off to Oxford soon, where I will be participating in a fascinating conference on the “Veiled Cities” of the 19th century, organized by Juliet Simpson and David Hopkin. I found their call for papers so alluring—to quote in part:

“All that is solid does not melt into air: the city is material, tangible, and the past is made immanent in its stones, in its relics.

All that is solid is not actually solid. Traceries of stone and lace conceal as much as they reveal. The city is layered and contains many portals to other worlds. It is a place of ghostly and miraculous encounters.

Anonymity is not anomie. Lives are hidden, in rooms and courtyards, glimpsed fleetingly through doorways and windows, but they are not empty.

The city is not disenchanted. Its traditions, its stories, its arts and crafts matter to its inhabitants. Nor is the city legible: it is a patchwork of secrets, mysteries, and possibilities.”

I look forward to sharing an update about my talk, which examines the life and work of the Roman poet/playwright/folklorist/newspaperman, Giggi Zanazzo (1860-1911) and comes out of research for my forthcoming book. But for now, here are some pictures of Giggi’s apartment building as it looks today, to give you a sense of the “urban tracery” I have been trying to see through and, in some small way, recover.

Photos of Via dei Delfini n. 5, exterior and interior, 2024, with thanks to Alison Heritage and Marco Ricci.