The Bicycle, Street Traffic, and Public Space in Fascist Italy
No. 39 (2009-09-01)Author(s)
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Carlos Héctor Caracciolo
Abstract
While the bicycle has not changed much since the end of the nineteenth century, the world around it -fashion, customs, technology, ideology, material culture, political and economic systems- has changed. The bicycle was a part of many aspects of Italian life (work, sports, politics, leisure) for various decades and its social meaning changed over the years. This article analyzes the bicycle during the fascist dictatorship: the transformation of its social meaning and its relationship with public space. It highlights the values, strategies of power, hierarchies, tensions, and contradictions of the society and the regime, proposing a way to read them that is useful for understanding other contexts and eras.
Keywords:
Italy, bicycle, public space, fascism