CASCINE
Parco delle Cascine.
160 hectares located on the river banks of Arno. An oasis in the outskirts of the city centre of Florence. This historical landmark was established in the 16th century and is today home to the Agronomy faculty of University of Florence, hosts weekly markets and showcases occasional concerts. At the heart of the park you’ll find a public pool, a playground, open green areas and numerous monuments and statues.
Unfortunately, Parco delle Cascine has also become a centre for drug dealing and illegal gatherings. In 2019, Florentine citizens would report about the activities going on in the park on a daily basis. A place that was made for everyone, became a place where many feel uneasy or even unsafe.
The state of the park and the on-going activities are both the biproduct of a much larger and more complex problem. The condition Cascine is in today is the result of a society that has failed to integrate this very specific, and narrow, ethnical group. If there is one thing that history has repeatedly shown us is that rejection and marginalisation often resolves into crime. It’s a system that causes prejudice and fear. And prejudice and fear causes rejection and marginalisation. It’s a never-ending, vicious cycle that has created these preconceptions that have taken a peaceful park and turned it into a symbol of a divided society.
