NoThere are only trappers among the kids of S. Siro, the youngest neighborhood in Milan, half inhabited by foreigners. The reality is much richer and more nuanced than it is often portrayed. You can get to know her thanks to photographic exhibition of Marco FerrarioSan Siro Project, which can be visited until January in via Gigante, at the OFF Campus space of the Polytechnic in San Siro, where research and laboratories with basic realities are carried out.
One of the portraits of Marco Ferrario exhibited at the San Siro Project exhibition at the Off Campus Space of the Polytechnic of Milan in via Gigante
Marco Ferrario has been working in the neighborhood for two years: «I joined local organizations, parishes, associations, after-school clubs, to carry out a shared project, not one imposed from above», he says. «The 20 boys and girls selected, all with a migratory background, first chose the place to be photographed, then the shot to publish. Once chosen, they wrote their ideas of the future on it, freely. They wrote everything.” The photographer tiptoed into the neighborhood, and it worked. The result is all to be seen, and also to be read. C‘there are those who confess that they want to “forget the traumas of when there was no one or nothing”who wants to bring “food and education” to his country, Morocco.
The exhibition was financed by FAMI, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund; European, is managed in Italy by the Ministry of the Interior. Francesca Cognetti, delegated by the rector of the Polytechnic for OFF Campus, which today has four open spaces in the Milanese suburbs, explains: «In S. Siro the prefecture of Milan has decided to promote a structured path to support neighborhood networks,improve the skills of those who commit. In addition to the Polytechnic, the universities Bocconi and Bicocca participated and, for the Third Sector, Comunità Nuova, Milano Mediterranea, Itinerari paralleli.
Coding courses by kids for kids
“For example, work has been done with foreign women to make them become leaders of their communitieswe intervened on teacher training, as a prevention of school dropout, and to bring street children closer.” Tech7 is also based at OFF Campus, where young people organize coding courses for those a few years younger, “a bit as if they were older brothers”, continues Cognetti.
One of Marco Ferrario’s photos on display at San Siro off campus, in via Gigante, until January.
He dedicated a special issue to S. Siro (again thanks to FAMI) Uncomfortable, a community of under 30s, widely followed by young people, which publishes a monthly paper. Scomodo, born in Rome, has also opened an editorial office in Milan and has already participated in some initiatives in S. Siro, such as after-school activities. «We support young people doing things for young people, in order to push them to represent themselves differently, to be proactive. The narrative on San Siro is crushed between trappers and criminals, but the reality is not like that”, concludes Cognetti.
At San Siro “everyone puts their own piece”
The complexity of the neighborhood and the project for its rebirth are well explained by Alessandra Tripodi, head of cabinet of the prefecture of Milan. To understand more, he tells us, we need to go back to April 2021, when hundreds of young people gathered in Piazzale Selinunte to shoot a music video attacked the police, damaging many cars. “That was a wake-up call,” recalls Dr. Tripodi. «We understood that there was a need for synergistic action, to bring together forces, in short, to think about the regeneration of the neighborhood. Safety control is essential, but you can’t enter with the police alone. Long-term action is neededthat goes forward over the years.”
A photo of Marco Ferrario in the current exhibition at OFF Campus S. Siro, in via Gigante, in Milan.
In October 2021, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Prefecture of Milan, the Municipality, the Lombardy Region and Aler, to strengthen the initiatives already underway at San Siro and launch others. FAMI fits into that context. «There are three areas to work on: safety, social, urban regeneration», continues Tripodi. «The Third Sector was already present, but was struggling to systematize the various initiatives, which is why we aimed to create a network in order to involve foreign citizens». Last summer one started summer school, linguistic mediation services have been created. The City Hall 7 police precinct will open in the neighborhood. The concierge staff has been strengthened and initiatives have been taken to enhance young people. «Everyone puts their little piece», concludes Tripodi. “We need to work on multiple fronts.”
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