Palermo Open City

At the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Palermo recently raised international awareness with the Manifesta biennale of contemporary art “Cultivating Coexistence” and with the installation of the Arabic-Norman World Heritage sites. Both initiatives gave further strength to a cultural and social renaissance of the. Palermo’s vision as a “laboratory for the humanities, arts, and culture” points to a Mediterranean dimension, it is a stage for the challenges of migration, climate change, and the future of the very South of Europe, especially for young people. The book PALERMO OPEN CITY explores how the idea of “Cosmopolitan Habitats”—developed in cooperation with Maurizio Carta—as a global vocation for inclusiveness can influence urban futures. Based on a research and study project and on an international workshop in Palermo, in cooperation with the Department of Architecture of the University of Palermo, PALERMO OPEN CITY asks how tangible and intangible cultural heritage can be conceived as a creative factor for productivity and openness. How can elements, energies, and networks of a collaborative city overcome spatial and social fragmentation? What role can boundaries, limits, borders, thresholds, and peripheries play for envisioning a “Cosmopolitan Habitat”?