Ritorno alla montagna? Dalla marginalità a una nuova centralità delle terre alte

Borders in the global era are an extremely topical issue, intimately linked to conflicts, to the challenges of globalization and to the planetary emergencies on which the future of humanity depends. Borders, be they material or cultural, are multiform and dynamic: they convey multiple representations and possible keys to interpretation. Perhaps for this very reason the history of borders is little known and often becomes the prey of identity movements. Boundaries that assert themselves as walls and insurmountable barriers, boundaries that vanish and unhinge in the ether of an interconnected and digital world only to reappear "strengthened" at the time of the pandemic and in the debates on the control of migratory phenomena. Or else borderline worlds such as mountains which, from the relative marginality to which they have been gradually relegated over the last century, re-emerge to acquire a new centrality, becoming places for a rediscovery of the territory and sustainable development.
This cycle of meetings and conferences, organized by the Ethnographic Museum of the Muggio Valley in collaboration with the Accademia di architetura of the Università della Svizzera italiana, and the Cineclub del Mendrisiotto, intends to propose a series of reflections on the complexity of the concepts of borders at the intersection of history, geography and anthropology. Particular reference is made to the Alps and mountain territories, but also to social and cultural issues of close relevance. It is designed for a diverse audience and alternates different modes of interaction and fruition. The cycle is organized within the temporary exhibition "Pezzi di frontiera. Geografie e immaginario del confine" present at Casa Cantoni in Cabbio between June 2020 and October 2022.