“Oltre la strada”, within the neighborhood. Grassroots initiatives for the urban periphery in Fiumicello, Brescia. – The paper deals with the urban regeneration of the western periphery of Brescia (Lombardy’s second largest city). More specifically, the work focuses on “Oltre la Strada”, one of the winning projects of the “Bando Periferie” in 2016. Conceived as a tool against urban decay, the project seems to have only partially achieved the object of solving the urban fragmentation, and there are still several doubts and concerns among residents and local associations from the area where the redevelopment processes took place. In particular, the paper analyzes the case of Fiumicello – a neighborhood characterized by an industrial past, immigration and grassroots initiatives – and of the association Via Milano 59, which carries out every day the mission of encouraging dialogue and filling in the institutional gaps in this small neighborhood.

Beyond the metropolis. The employment trajectories of medium-sized cities in Lombardy, Lazio and Campania (2001-2019). – The importance of medium-sized cities for the cohesion of regional spaces and the promotion of more sustainable development models is often emphasised. However, their evolutionary trajectories are less investigated than those of the metropolises, considered the main hubs of innovation and the knowledge economy. This paper analyses the dynamics of jobs between 2001 and 2019 in a group of 175 medium-sized cities (20,000-200-000 inhabitants) located in Lombardy, Lazio and Campania. Significant differences in employment performance and sectoral specialisation profiles are found, concerning the different insertion of medium-sized cities in the settlement system (polarities and non-polarities of Local Labour Systems). Medium-sized cities have not always been as dynamic as metropolitan poles, which have grown stronger over the last two decades. Furthermore, greater difficulties emerge for cities with an economic base linked to the manufacturing industry, especially in Lombardy.

Cartography as a symbolic operator: the Covid-19 pandemic in Lombardy. – By anchoring itself to cartographic semiosis, the contribution intends to high-light the importance that cartography acquires within the media communication system, with particular attention to its use in the current health emergency. Indeed, cartography is conceived as a symbolic operator capable of actively acting to create knowledge and provide operational requirements in the Coronavirus emergency. Thanks to cartographic semiosis, it is possible to investigates the construction and communication mechanisms relating to the representation of the territory and the implementation of a cybercartography. This kind of cartography, if it is correctly constructed from a semiotic point of view, is an effective tool, through which it is possible to restore the social complexity of the areas most affected by the pandemic. This contribution will be exemplified on the multiscale mapping of Lombardy produced within the CST-DiathesisLab of the University of Bergamo.

From open borders to their seal. Lombardy armored in the time of Covid-19. – The Covid-19 pandemic, among other things, has led to the ransom of borders. If, until now, the demolition of borders, walls, barbed wire has been exalted, the outbreak and the spread of the pandemic has produced a radical rethinking of the importance of sanitary cordons. In Lombardy, the most emblematic example is that of the area around Codogno. The area was armored, calling it Red, and the effect was that, in a few days, of bringing the infections to zero. In this paper, however, by borders, we do not mean only the territorial ones, but also the social distancing, at various levels, according to the places of contact between oneself and the other. We also include masks, “altruistic” or “selfish”, which become a relational boundary, as it is difficult to distinguish the physiognomy because they hide the pleasure of a mutual smile. The lockdown, however, was a necessary response, which, with the exception of other waves, serious or not, of Covid-19, is driving Lombardy and the whole of Italy towards a better living condition, compared to the one that occurred to Whuan. Although it involves a series of rules to fol-low, first of all the prohibition of “movida” and, in general, crowd.

Territorial Reorganisation and Differentiated Autonomy: A Matter to be discussed in light of the Plague. – The arrangement of local self-government is one of the elements that the management of Covid-19 has involved most. During this period people saw many difficulties of the Italian administrative structure and it had consequences on the efficiency of the institutions and markets too. The arrival of Covid-19 has called into question many aspects of internal life in the country and the gained experience pushes for the revision of some aspects of Italian political affairs. This contribu-tion aims to underline – through two case studies – some themes of political geography raised by the new condition and to indicate the new opportunities they open up. To do this, the authors discuss, on the one hand, the reorganization of the state administration after Law 56 of 2014, the new hierarchy of administrative powers and the launch of the Metropolitan Cities. On the other hand, they address the debate on the request for Autonomia differenziata (differentiated autonomy) presented by three regions – Veneto, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna – in order to in-crease their spaces of power, and the consequences for the rest of the country.