Suspended Cities. Crossroads of Shifting Cultures, Boundaries, and Identities
Throughout history, many cities have undergone profound political and territorial transformations, shifting from one sovereignty to another and evolving into multilingual and multiethnic spaces. Cities such as Gdańsk, Rijeka/Fiume, Gorizia, Strasbourg, Trieste, Bratislava, Trento, Athens, Jerusalem, Nice, Constantinople/Istanbul, Vilnius, Lviv/Lwów/Leopolis, and many others have served as crossroads of nationalities, languages, and cultures in constant redefinition. They bear witness to how the city can function as a living laboratory of coexistence, conflict, and identity negotiation. In these frontier cities, not only have social and cultural dynamics been shaped by the presence of diverse communities, but their very urban configuration has been altered by shifting political borders. Public squares, as spaces of both encounter and confrontation, and streets, as arteries of transit and exchange, have become stages for cultural superimpositions, where different languages and traditions have met and interwoven. Market squares and imposing public structures, for instance, have recorded in multiple ways the passage of various ruling powers, leaving tangible marks on the urban landscape. Likewise, streets narrate the transitions between multiple national identities through architectural expressions that reflect artistic, cultural, and cosmopolitan influences.
This session aims to explore the role of these "suspended cities". On the one hand, they have stood at the crossroads of competing cultural and political influences; on the other, they have been in a state of continuous transition—not only as borderlands but also as spaces of intersection and passage. The discussion will focus on how shifting borders in the modern and contemporary era have shaped relations between communities and the physical structures of the city. Particular attention will be given to the "traces" and "residues" left in squares and streets, which preserve material evidence of past dominations and successive shifts of power, revealing tangible imprints of overlapping identities. Furthermore, the session will delve into how urban, cultural, and social dynamics have been transformed in cities that have passed from one national authority to another. It will also examine the intentions, practices, and processes through which these changes have shaped architecture and public spaces. Through case studies and interdisciplinary approaches, the session seeks to investigate the nature of "suspended cities" as spaces of exchange, where urban history intertwines with geopolitical developments and contemporary tensions.
