Touritalia - Condensed Culture and the Representation of Italian Itineraries in Mainstream Cinema

Although this outcome is a chapter in a book, its origins are in the multifaceted nature of my research. \ud As part of the exhibition “Site-Seeing: the Disneyfication of Cities” held at the Kunstlerhaus, Vienna, I was invited to deliver a paper as part of a lecture series. The papers were given at specifically chosen locations throughout Vienna. I delivered my paper at the top of the “Gasometer” buildings, which overlook Vienna, and the panoramic views from which informed both the subject of my paper and that of the other speaker Professor John Urry. The paper was subsequently published as part of a book entitled “Site-Seeing”. My text, “Touritalia” considers the Disneyfication of urban spaces by examining the narratives of Italian tourism in mid-20th century Hollywood cinema. The separation and objectification of culture and urban space explicit in these American/Italian itineraries is, I suggest, comparable to theme park reconstructions of historical and cultural moments. The talk was accompanied by a video which re-edited many of the film sequences referred to in the talk and which was shown alongside my paper. The symposium was recorded and made available to be listened to back at the Kunstlerhaus via listening stations during the remainder of the exhibition’s run. Thus the project attempted to make audiences re-think the city: by “curating” the talks, it prompted a reconception of a traditional academic format as an experience that can be stimulating both academically and sensorially; a strategy that has subsequently proved influential in a number of interdisciplinary projects. The book serves as a testament to, and record of, this interdisciplinary emphasis